Human resistin is critical to activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages
Fig 6
hResistin induces macrophage-derived mature IL-1β and IL-18 to promote human PVSMC proliferation.
(A) Images of western blots for p-AKT, t-AKT, p-ERK1/2, and t-ERK1/2 protein levels in human PVSMCs that were serum-starved for 24 hours and then cultured for 30 minutes in (1) medium only; conditioned medium from macrophages treated with (2) 20nM hResistin, (3) 20 nM hResistin + 300 ng/mL resistin antibody, (4) 20 nM hResistin + 10 µM (4.04 µg/mL) MCC950, (5) 120 ng/mL IL-1β antibody, (6) or 120 ng/mL IL-18 antibody; (7) starved media (0.5% FBS) + 5 ng/mL IL-1β protein; or (8) starved media + 5 ng/mL IL-18 protein. (B) Quantitative analysis of data in panel A. Data represent means ± SD (n = 5 per group). (C) Induction of PVSMC proliferation by IL-1β and IL-18 derived from hResistin-treated macrophages. Data represent means ± SD (n = 6 per group). (D) hResistin regulates MMP-driven PVSMC proliferation through IL-1β and IL-18 derived from hResistin-treated macrophages. Human PVSMCs were serum-starved for 24 hours and then cultured for 24 hours with (1) medium only; conditioned media from macrophages treated with (2) 20 nM hResistin, (3) 120 ng/mL IL-1β antibody, or (4) 120 ng/mL IL-18 antibody; (5) starved media + 5 ng/mL IL-1β protein; (6) starved media + 5 ng/mL IL-18 protein; or (7) conditioned media alone. (E) Quantitative analysis of data in panel D. Data represent means ± SD (n = 4 per group). (F) Schematic presentation of the proposed pathway of SMC migration and proliferation. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. ab, antibody; CM, conditioned medium; con, control; FBS, fetal bovine serum; Hres; human resistin; IL, interleukin; NS-CM, non-stimulated conditioned media; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; OD, optical density; p-, phosphorylated; PDGF, platelet-derived growth factor; PVSMC, pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell; t-, total. Created in BioRender. Lam, W. (2026) https://BioRender.com/1zhhut0.