YPFS induces COX-2 expression in macrophages.

<p>(<b>A</b>): Cultured macrophages were treated with herbal extracts as described in Fig. 4 legend for 24 hours and then COX-2 mRNA expression levels were determined using RT-PCR. GAPDH was used as an internal control for normalization and LPS (1 µg/mL) was used as the positive control. (<b>B</b>): Macrophages were treated with herbal extracts for 24 hours after first incubating the cells with or without the NF-κB-specific inhibitor BAY 11-7082 (5 µM) for 3 hours. Cell lysates were collected, diluted to equal protein concentrations, and analyzed by means of western blotting. Representative western blots are shown. (<b>C</b>): Effects of BAY 11-7082 on the expression of COX-2 protein induced by YPFS in cultured macrophages. (<b>D</b>): Effects of BAY 11-7082 on COX-2 protein expression induced by individual herbs in cultured macrophages. Results in (C) and (D) were calculated using the western blots shown in (B). Values were normalized using the internal control GAPDH and are expressed as fold-increases relative to basal reading (untreated cultures); mean ± SD are shown, <i>n</i> = 5, each with triplicate samples. *<i>p</i><0.05; **<i>p</i><0.01; ***<i>p</i><0.001.