Fig. 3

Diacerein protected against LPS-induced inflammatory response of renal tissue. a-d After the 72-h experimental period, the whole kidneys of each group were harvested. Levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (a), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (b), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) (c) and nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS-2) (d) determined by ELISA were inhibited after diacerein treatment. e Immunohistochemical staining of F4/80 in the kidneys isolated from each group (magnification, 100×) (arrows). f Quantitation of F4/80 was determined by computer-based morphometric analysis, which showed that diacerein markedly inhibited infiltration of macrophages in kidney tissues **P < 0.01 vs. control, ##P < 0.01 vs. LPS, n = 6 in each group