Fig. 4

The mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream cytokines decrease when macrophages are depleted in the cochlea. A: The relative mRNA levels of NLRP3, Pycard, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 were determined in cochleae using qRT-PCR in both control (black) and PLX5622-treated (grey) mice at 7d in CSOM. A significant decrease in mRNA levels was observed for all these genes following the depletion of cochlear macrophages (NLRP3: p = 0.01, Pycard: p = 0.033, Caspase-1: p = 0.017, IL-1β: p = 0.04, and IL-18: p = 0.012). B: NLRP3 showed a significant fold decrease in the PLX5622 treatment group (p = 0.008). C: IL-1β showed a significant fold decrease in the PLX5622 treatment group (p = 0.024). D. IL-18 showed a significant fold decrease in the PLX5622 treatment group (p = 0.027). The number of mice per group is shown in parentheses. Data are shown as mean ± SEM in qPCR and as mean ± SD in ELISA