Fig. 5

Ethyl pyruvate inhibits NLRP3 agonists-induced mitochondrial damage. a Electron micrographs of mitochondria in LPS-primed THP-1 cells after incubation with ATP (5 mM) or nigericin (10 μM) for 15 min in the presence or the absence of ethyl pyruvate (5 mM). Shown in panel A are representative images of normal, partially damaged, or heavily damaged mitochondria. Scale bars, 1 um. b Quantification of damaged mitochondria in (a). Results are means ± SEM (n = 6). c Mouse macrophages were primed with LPS or LPS + EP, followed by treatment with ATP (5 mM, 20 min). Cells were stained with JC-1 and analyzed by a flow cytometer. Cells in the gate represent mitochondrial depolarization or mitochondrial damage. d mtDNA release from LPS-primed mouse peritoneal macrophages after stimulation of ATP (5 mM) or nigericin (10 μM) for 30 min in the presence or the absence of ethyl pyruvate (5 mM). Results are means ± SEM (n = 3). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001