Activation of the P2X7 receptor and its downstream signaling trigger a key step of

the inflammatory response of IL-1β, the induction of NLRP3/caspase-1 inflammasome complexes that promote the proteolytic maturation and secretion Selleck CHIR99021 of IL-1β [34]. Little is known about the P2X7 receptor regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in swine macrophages and the processing and secretion of IL-1β. Further studies are needed to address the mechanism of the release of IL-1β from swine liver-macrophages and its biological significance in the inflammatory response of the swine. In our method, only a relatively small number of liver cells (5 × 106 cells per T75 flask) are required, and active proliferation of macrophages in the mixed liver BMS-387032 cost cell culture, followed by selective harvest of these cells, yields a large number of pure macrophages (c.a. 107 in total) from a single T75 culture flask during a comparatively long culture period (i.e. more than 3 weeks). The average number of macrophages harvested from a single T75 flask is relatively low (c.a. 106 cells) compared to large-scale harvest by lung or peritoneal lavage in pig. However, the main advantage of our method is to provide a certain number of pure macrophages originated from the same animal repeatedly at a few days interval for more than 3 weeks. By increasing

the number of T75 flasks appropriately, the harvest scale of macrophage would be adjusted to meet a specific experimental design. As the Swine Genome Project provides comprehensive genetic Ureohydrolase marker information for the selective breeding of this important livestock species [35], appropriate swine cellular models need to be developed to verify the linkage between genetic polymorphisms and cellular phenotypes. In this context, our method can provide swine liver-macrophages in reasonable quantity and purity from a swine individual of a specific genetic background and thus advance the application of functional genomics on the innate immune responses to the specific infectious diseases of swine [36,37]. In addition, permanent cell lines will come to be established, such as by the transfection

of SV40T oncogene [38], or the utilization of specific growth factors to support the continuous proliferation of swine macrophages [39]. These permanent swine macrophage cell lines, once established, will constitute valuable tools for the in vitro study of the swine innate immune system. This work was supported by a research grant from the Animal Gnome Project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan. “
“Atherosclerosis is now regarded as an inflammatory disease. Inflammation in the vessel wall seems to be important for the development of the atherosclerotic plaque as well as for plaque destabilisation [1,2]. Inflammation also seems to be involved in the remodelling process after acute STEMI [3].