Figure 5. ELISA results regarding the amounts of IL-6, IL-1, and TNF-α present with inhibitors of the MAPK pathway in HCECs. Inhibitors of the JNK pathway (SP600125 50 μM), the p38 pathway (SB203580 10 μM), and the ERK pathway (U0126 10 μM) were used, but only SB203580 (an inhibitor of the p38 pathway) suppressed the elevation of cytokines caused by hyperosmolarity. 17-β-estradiol suppressed the hyperosmoticity-induced elevation of all of the three cytokines in conditions with or without JNK/ERK/p38 MAPK inhibitors. **p<0.01.