Effects of estradiol and progesterone on the proinflammatory cytokine production by mononuclear cells from patients with chronic hepatitis C

Figure 2 Stimulation of TNF-α, IL-1β (A), IL-8, and MCP-1 (B) production after exposure to hydrogen peroxide by unstimulated PBMCs from age-matched younger male and pre-menopausal female healthy controls. The unstimulated PBMCs from the age-matched younger male (black square) and pre-menopausal female (black circle) healthy controls were incubated for up to 6 h in serum-free RPMI in the presence of 10^-5 mol/L hydrogen peroxide. The levels of TNF-α (A solid), IL-1β (A open), IL-8 (B solid), and MCP-1 (B open) in the culture supernatant were detected by means of an ELISA. The values are the mean ± SD (n = 10).