|
Fig. 4 Macrophages internalize CDs without activating inflammatory programs. Mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages internalize CDs. Macrophages were exposed for 6 h to (A) PBS, (B) CD, (C) CD-Cy5, and (D) CD-Biotin, costained with DAPI, and imaged at 360, 488, and 647 nm to respectively identify nuclei (blue), CDs (cyan), and Cy5 (cargo; magenta). While autofluorescence in the 488 nm channel precludes direct analysis of CD internalization, examination in the 647 nm channel revealed the internalization of CD-Cy5. Scale bar is 50 μm. (E) Nitric oxide (NO) production by mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages exposed to different CD concentrations. NO production was measured as released nitrate (μM). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; immune response activator) was used as a positive control, and PBS as a negative control. Data represent the average ± SEM of three independent experiments and were analyzed for statistical significance using a one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s posthoc test (***p < 0.001).