Figure 4. Chemerin and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) both increased intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression via the activation of ChemR23 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), respectively. A-C: Western blot analysis of TNF-α receptor (TNFR) and ICAM-1 proteins with/without TNF-α (30 ng/ml for 6 h) stimulation or ChemR23 knockdown under low- and high-glucose conditions, normalized to tubulin. A,D,E,F: Western blot analysis of inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B alpha (Iκ-Bα) and intranuclear NF-κB (n-NF-κB) proteins with/without TNF-α stimulation or ChemR23 knockdown under low- and high-glucose conditions. The protein expression of Iκ-Bα and NF-κB was normalized to tubulin, whereas the protein expression of n-NF-κB was normalized to His-H3. Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation (SD) of six replicates. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001. Abbreviations: NC, RRMECs transfected with empty vector; shChemR23, RRMECs transfected with shRNA targeting ChemR23.