Transcriptional profiling of TAMs exposed to LPS. (A) The bar graph presents a quantitative account of the gene modulations in PEC and TAM transcriptomes upon activation with LPS (100 ng/mL) for 4 hours. The data are representative of the microarray experiments described in Table 2. (B) Real-time PCR and (C) ELISA validation of few LPS-induced cytokine/chemokine genes in PECs and TAMs. The same pool of 4-hour LPS-stimulated PEC and TAM RNA used in the array was subjected to real-time PCR analysis for the indicated genes. All data were normalized with regard to β-actin gene expression. Results are given as fold increase in mRNA levels with respect to the untreated PECs. For ELISA, the culture supernatants of untreated or LPS-treated PECs and TAMs were collected following overnight incubation and determined for the indicated proteins. ND indicates not determined; Unt, untreated. LPS (100 ng/mL). Data are mean ± SD, representative of 3 independent experiments done in triplicate (PECs vs TAMs, P < .05). ^*For IL-12 real-time PCR and ELISA, the values correspond to IFN-γ-primed LPS treatment for PECs and TAMs (see “Results”).