Fig 1.
TEM micrograph of the PBCA nanoparticles obtained.
The scale bar represents 1 μm.
Table 1.
Splenic cell number and body temperature of mice on the 8th day of LPS injection.
Fig 2.
Plasma cytokine levels in mice with inflammation treated with free or PBCA nanoparticle-bound thymulin.
Four groups were included: untreated inflammation-bearing (IB) mice, IB mice treated twice with 1.5 mg/kg thymulin (IB+TM), IB mice treated twice with the same concentration of thymulin bound to nanoparticles (IB+TMN), and sham-treated controls (C). There were five mice in each group, and nine replicates per mouse. The mean of the average of these replicates is shown. All animals were analyzed individually and simultaneously. The units are ng/mL of plasma. *Significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). ^Significantly different from the IB group (p<0.05).
Fig 3.
Effects of thymulin (free or bound to PBCA nanoparticles) on levels of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated p65, IKK, JNK1, p38, and PKC-θ in splenic lymphocytes from mice with inflammation.
The groups used in this experiment were the same as those in Fig 2 (1, control; 2, IB mice; 3, IB+TM; 4, IB+TMN). Western blot analysis of protein extracts from isolated mouse lymphocytes was performed using the indicated antibodies or an anti-GAPDH antibody (bottom). Images of blots show a single representative experiment using one animal. The histograms below the protein bands show quantified protein levels expressed in mean relative units (relative to the internal control GAPDH), and are the results of blot densitometry performed using the program QAPA and data from five mice. Black columns represent non-phosphorylated forms, and clear columns phosphorylated forms. *Significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). ^Significantly different from the I group (p<0.05). #Significantly different from the IB+TM group (p<0.05).
Fig 4.
Effects of thymulin (free or bound to PBCA nanoparticles) on TLR4 and Hsp expression in splenic lymphocytes from mice with inflammation.
The groups used in this experiment were the same as those in Figs 2 and 3 (1, control; 2, IB; 3, IB+TM; 4, IB+TMN). Western blot analysis of protein extracts from isolated mouse lymphocytes was performed using the indicated antibodies or an anti-GAPDH antibody (bottom). Images of blots show a single representative experiment using one animal. The histograms below the protein bands show quantified protein levels expressed in mean relative units (relative to the internal control GAPDH), and are the results of blot densitometry performed using the program QAPA and data from five mice. *Significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). ^Significantly different from the IB group (p<0.05). #Significantly different from the IB+TM group (p<0.05).
Fig 5.
Effects of thymulin (free or bound to PBCA nanoparticles) on apoptosis of splenic lymphocytes from mice with inflammation.
The groups used in this experiment were the same as those in Figs 2 and 3 (1, control; 2, IB; 3, IB+TM; 4, IB+TMN). Western blot analysis of extracts from isolated mouse lymphocytes was performed using the indicated antibodies or an anti-GAPDH antibody (bottom). Images of blots show a single representative experiment using one mouse. The histograms below the protein bands show quantified protein levels expressed in mean relative units (relative to the internal control), and are the results of blot densitometry using the program QAPA and data from five animals. Black columns represent caspase-3 and clear columns cleaved caspase-3. *Significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). ^Significantly different from the IB group (p<0.05).
Fig 6.
Effects of thymulin (free or bound to PBCA nanoparticles) on plasma and brain melatonin and serotonin levels in mice with inflammation.
The design of this experiment was the same as that described in Fig 2. Melatonin and serotonin values are expressed in pg/mL and ng/mL, respectively. Black and clear columns represent plasma and brain concentrations, respectively. *Significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). ^Significantly different from the IB group (p<0.05). #Significantly different from the IB+TM group (p<0.05).