miR-146a is involved in BLP-induced self-tolerance.

<p>(<b>A</b> and <b>B</b>) Human THP-1 cells were pre-incubated with either culture medium (naive) or 100 ng/ml BLP (BLP-tolerised) for 18 h, and further stimulated with 1,000 ng/ml BLP for 6 h (<b>A</b>) or 24 h (<b>B</b>). (<b>C</b> and <b>D</b>) THP-1 cells were transfected with 40 nM of either miR-146a mimic or miRNA negative control (<b>C</b>) and then stimulated with 1,000 ng/ml BLP for 6 h (<b>D</b>). TNF-α concentrations in the culture supernatants were assessed by ELISA and miR-146a levels in THP-1 cells were detected by real-time PCR. Data are presented as mean ± SE of three independent experiments and each experiment was conducted in triplicate. *<i>p</i><0.05, **<i>p</i><0.01 compared with naive cells or miRNA negative control-transfected cells.