To investigate whether the ROCK pathway is involved in thrombin-induced microglial inflammatory response, thrombin-induced microglia were pretreated with the thrombin inhibitor argatroban or a ROCK inhibitor Y-27632. Microglial inflammatory response was evaluated by phagocytosis of fluorescein labeled latex beads analyses and inflammatory mediators' expression such as nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-а). Compared to non-induced microglia, thrombin-induced microglia show significantly enhanced phagocytotic capacity and increased ROCK, NO and TNF-а expression. Pretreatment of thrombin-induced microglia with argatroban or Y-27632 significantly decreased phagocytotic capacity and reduced ROCK, NO and TNF-α expression. Therefore, the ROCK pathway may play a vital role in the mechanisms by which thrombin induces microglia in the inflammatory response.
Keywords: Argatroban; Inflammation; Microglia; ROCK; Y-27632.
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