Fig 2: Promoting macrophage polarization and cellular ROS production. (A) Western blotting and (B) reverse transcription-quantitative PCR results indicated that CD206-Fe3O4-PLGA promoted the expression levels of TNF-a, IL-1ß and iNOS (*P<0.05), while the expression levels of TGF-ß, IL-10 and Arg1 were inhibited (*P<0.05). (C) A reactive oxygen probe assay demonstrated that PLGA did not significantly increase intracellular ROS, but an enhanced level of ROS production was observed in macrophages treated with CD206-Fe3O4-PLGA and Fe3O4-PLGA (magnification, ×100). ROS, reactive oxygen species; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; PLGA, poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid; Arg1, Arginase 1.

Fig 3: Effect of Baicalein on the protein levels of NF-?B-p65 and iNOS in the hippocampi of mice. Levels of NF-?B-p65 (A) and iNOS (B) in the hippocampus increased after administration of LPS (5 mg/kg, i.p.). Treatment with baicalein (3 mg/kg, i.p.) 1 h after LPS administration could significantly reduce the levels of both proteins. Data are presented as means ± SEM. (n = 8) * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Fig 4: Hepatic protein expressions of BDL rats with or without alirocumab treatment. The NFkB, IkBa, eNOS, iNOS, and LOX-1 protein expressions were not significantly influenced by alirocumab (BDL-V vs. BDL-A: n = 11:12, BDL-V vs. BDL-A, all proteins p > 0.05).