Fig. 5

The effects of triptolide on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced changes in the protein levels of (a and b) phosphorylated IκBα (p-IκBα) and (c and d) IκBα in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Full-length blots for p-IκBα and IκBα are presented in Additional file Data. HUVECs were treated with LPS (1 μg/ml) in the presence or absence of triptolide (25, 50 or 100 nM) for 30 min. Cell lysates were subjected to immunoblot analysis using the antibodies against p-IκBα (Ser32) and IκBα. The data are presented as the relative protein expression normalized to β-actin expression. Data are expressed as the mean ± standard error of the mean. *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01, compared with LPS treatment alone. #p < 0.05, compared with the control group