Fig. 4

UA regulated the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome by activation of ROS and K⁺ efflux. a After treatment of HUVECs with UA (20 mg/dL) or normal saline for 24 h, the level of ROS in cells was measured using CM-H2DCFDA assay; b After pretreatment of HUVECs with APO (200 μM) or NAC (5 mM) for 1 h, and subsequent incubation with UA (20 mg/dL) for 24 h, the expression of NLRP3 and its downstream factors in cells or culture supernatant was measured by western blotting; c After 1 h treatment with Mito-TEMPO (500 μM), and subsequent incubation with UA (20 mg/dL) for 24 h, the expression of NLRP3 and its downstream factors in cells or culture supernatant was measured by western blotting; d HUVECs were treated with potassium chloride (KCl, 130 mM) for 30 min in extracellular, the medium containing K⁺ was removed. After subsequent incubation with UA (20 mg/dL) for 24 h, the expression of NLRP3 and its downstream factors in cells or culture supernatant was measured by western blotting. *P < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001