Fig. 4

MT inhibits ROS production in nicotine-treated THP-1 macrophages. (A) DCFH-DA staining showing ROS generation in nicotine-treated macrophages exposed to NAC and MT (scale bar: 100 μm). (B) Flow cytometry showing ROS generation in nicotine-treated macrophages exposed to NAC and MT. (C) MitoSOX Red Mitochondrial Superoxide Indicator staining showing mitochondrion ROS generation in nicotine-treated macrophages exposed to NAC and MT (scale bar: 100 μm). (D) RT‒qPCR analysis of the effects of nicotine, NAC and MT on pyroptosis-related mRNA expression. (E) Effect of MT or NAC on NLRP3 and IL-18 immunofluorescence in nicotine-treated macrophages (scale bar: 20 μm). Data are presented as mean ± SD (n = 3 represents three independent experiments per group); ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, and ^***P < 0.001 vs. control cells. ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, and ^###P < 0.001 vs. nicotine-treated cells