Figure 1

Dexamethasone, but not cortisone, inhibited HMGB1 and TNF release from human monocytes. Effects of dexamethasone on HMGB1 and TNF release and on cell viability (A–C), and effects of cortisone on HMGB1 or TNF release and cell viability (D–F), are demonstrated. Human primary monocytes were pretreated with dexamethasone (A, B) or cortisone (D, E) for 1 h and subsequently stimulated with LPS/IFNγ for 24 or 7 h. Secretion of HMGB1 and TNF was detected by ELISPOT. Data from at least three experiments were normalized by denoting the number of spots from LPS/IFNγ stimulated cells as 100% and subsequently calculating the effect achieved by addition of the drug; P values were calculated by Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric ANOVA test. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. Cell viability was assessed by Annexin-V staining (C, F).