EMBO/soda-nel huggingface dataset:
Organismal Benefits of Transcription Speed Control at Gene Boundaries (2020)
Figure 3

Figure 3 Accelerated RNAPII transcription reduces promoter-proximal RNAPII stalling and enhances RNAPII activity in gene body.

plaNET-seq signal of RNAPII in the promoter proximal region of AT1G70600 in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Arrows indicate the RNAPII signal at the region of promoter-proximal stalling.

Metagene profile of plaNET-seq mean signal of RNAPII in a 1 Kb window centered at the +1 nucleosome in Arabidopsis genes (n=25474) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). The significance of differences of plaNET-seq signal in the region from -25 bins to +25 bins around +1 nucleosome between NRPB2WT and NRPB2Y732F were assessed by a two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test, p=5.20e-10.

RNAPII stalling index calculated for all the genes with plaNET-Seq FPKM ≥ 10 in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red) (n=6596). Medians of the stalling index are 1.891 and 1.222 for NRPB2WT and NRPB2Y732F, respectively. *** denotes p-value <0.001 by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The solid horizontal lines and box limits represent medians, lower and upper quartiles of data values in each group. The upper and lower whiskers extend to the largest or smallest value, respectively, no further than 1.5 * IQR from the relevant quartile.

Metagene profile of plaNET-seq mean signal over whole genes (length from 0.5 Kb to 5 Kb, scaled to 500 bins, n=27042) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red).

Metagene profile of plaNET-seq mean signal of RNAPII in exons (length from 50 bp to 300 bp, scaled to 100 bins, n=73925) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Pink dashed line rectangle illustrates the amplitude of differences between the minimum and the maximum of RNAPII signal across the exons. A two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test was used to assess the plaNET-seq signal of NRPB2WT (blue) and NRPB2Y732F (red) in exons, p<1e-16.

Metagene profile of plaNET-seq mean signal of RNAPII in introns (50 bp to 300 bp, scaled to 100 bins, n=102260) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). A two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test was used to assess the plaNET-seq signal of NRPB2WT (blue) and NRPB2Y732F (red) in introns, p<1e-16.
Organismal Benefits of Transcription Speed Control at Gene Boundaries (2020)
Figure 4

Figure 4 Analysis of alternative splicing in NRPB2WT and NRPB2Y732F mutant.

A schematic illustration of the co-transcriptional RNAPII-spliceosome complex. plaNET-seq mainly detects splicing intermediates corresponding to 5' splicing site (5'SS) co-purified with engaged RNAPII complex.

Bar charts showing the fractions of 3' and 5' splicing intermediate reads from plaNET-seq in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red).

Genome browser snapshots illustrating enhanced intron splicing in NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F, red) compared to NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT ,blue). Scale bars denote 0.5 Kb.

The fraction of RNA-seq intronic reads calculated for all genes (n=24912) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/-. Two-sided Mann-Whitney U test: **** denotes p-value<2.2e-16. The solid horizontal lines and box limits represent medians, lower and upper quartiles of data values in each group. The upper and lower whiskers extend to the largest or smallest value, respectively, no further than 1.5 * IQR from the relevant quartile.

Differentially expressed (DE) exons and introns in NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- compared to NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- based on RNA-seq results. Numbers of DE exons and introns were shown in plot.

Quantification (log fold change of FPKM from RNA-seq) of differentially expressed (DE) exons and non-DE exons in NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- compared to NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/-. ** denotes p-value <0.01 by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The solid horizontal lines and box limits represent medians, lower and upper quartiles of data values in each group. The upper and lower whiskers extend to the largest or smallest value, respectively, no further than 1.5 * IQR from the relevant quartile.

Genome browser snapshots illustrating enhanced exon skipping in NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F, red) compared to NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT ,blue). Scale bars denote 0.5 Kb.

Quantification (log fold change of FPKM from RNA-seq) of differentially expressed (DE) introns and non-DE exons in NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- compared to NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/-. **** denotes p-value <0.0001 by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The solid horizontal lines and box limits represent medians, lower and upper quartiles of data values in each group. The upper and lower whiskers extend to the largest or smallest value, respectively, no further than 1.5 * IQR from the relevant quartile.
Organismal Benefits of Transcription Speed Control at Gene Boundaries (2020)
Figure 5

Figure 5 Accelerated transcription reduces RNAPII stalling at 3' gene ends and enhances transcriptional read-through downstream of PAS.

plaNET-seq signal of RNAPII at 3' end of AT2G21410 in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Arrows indicate the RNAPII signal peaks at PAS stalling region.

Metagene profile of plaNET-seq mean signal of RNAPII in a 1 kb window centered at PAS (n=24448) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). The significance of differences of plaNET-seq signal in the region from PAS to +100 bins between NRPB2WT and NRPB2Y732F were assessed by Two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test, p = 1.53e-06.

Histogram of transcriptional read-through length (nt) from PAS of protein-coding gene (plaNET-seq FPKM>5, n=9316) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red).

Box plot shows the RNAPII transcriptional read-through length from PAS of protein-coding genes (plaNET-seq FPKM>5 n=9316) called based on statistic model (see Methods) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Median of read-through length in NRPB2WT and NRPB2Y732F mutant are 534 nt and 649 nt. Two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test: *** denotes p = 9.9e-62. The solid horizontal lines and box limits represent medians, lower and upper quartiles of data values in each group. The upper and lower whiskers extend to the largest or smallest value, respectively, no further than 1.5 * IQR from the relevant quartile.

Metagene plot of RNAPII signal by plaNET-seq anchored at both PAS of upstream genes and TSS of downstream genes for tandemly oriented genes (n=5753) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Red arrow denotes the direction of transcriptional read-through. Pink dashed line rectangle indicates the region corresponding to the second half of PAS-TSS gaps along 5' to 3' direction.

Metagene plot of RNAPII signal by plaNET-seq anchored at PASs of both upstream genes and downstream genes for gene pairs located in "tail to tail" orientation (n=1384) in NRPB2WT +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2WT, blue) and NRPB2Y732F +/+ nrpb2-2 -/- (NRPB2Y732F ,red). Red arrows denote the directions of transcriptional read-through from both PASs. Pink dashed line rectangles indicate the region corresponding to the second half of PAS-TSS gaps along 5' to 3' direction.
The molecular architecture of cell cycle arrest (2022)
Figure 2

Fig 2: The arrest architecture of hypomitogenic stress.

A. Unified cell cycle map of unperturbed (gray) and serum-starved cells (1d: light blue, 7d: dark blue, N = 3007 cells). The proliferative cell cycle (dotted gray line) and the hypomitogenic arrest trajectory (black dotted line) are indicated on the map. Inset: Each treatment condition is shown individually on the unified map (other conditions are shown in lighter gray).

B-F. (B) Diffusion pseudotime, (C) p21, (D) cyclin D1, (E) DNA content and (F) phospho/total RB of unperturbed (left panels) or serum-starved cells (right panels) are plotted on the map.

G. Time-lapse imaging of cyclinD1-mVenus intensity in unperturbed (control, green) and serum-starved cells (blue). Cells were serum-starved for at least 8h prior to imaging. The solid line represents the population median and the shaded area indicates the 95% confidence interval. N = 105 control cells and N = 111 starved cells.

H. Heatmap of feature intensity along the hypomitogenic arrest trajectory. Features were ordered by hierarchical clustering according to their dynamics along the arrest trajectory. Diffusion pseudotime values were binned and pseudotime values with <15 cells were excluded from the visualization.

I. Median nuclear p27 abundance in serum-starved cells is plotted on the map.
The molecular architecture of cell cycle arrest (2022)
Figure 3

Fig 3: The arrest architecture of replication stress.

Unified cell cycle map of unperturbed (gray) and etoposide-treated cells (1 μM; 1d: light green, 2d: green, 3d: dark green, 4d: darker green - see inset, N = 4315 cells). The unperturbed cell cycle trajectory (dotted gray line) and two arrest trajectories (into G02C and G04C; black dotted lines) are indicated on the map. Inset: Each condition is shown individually on the map (other conditions are shown in lighter gray).

B-E. (B) Diffusion pseudotime, (C) DNA content, (D) phospho/total RB and (E) p21 of unperturbed (left panels) or etoposide-treated cells (right panels) are plotted on the arrest architecture. Median nuclear values are shown.

F. Time-lapse imaging of CDK2 activity (DHB-mCherry, gray) and p21-YPet (green) intensity in etoposide-treated cells. Schematic shows the two arrest trajectories observed following etoposide treatment. Cells that successfully complete G2 ("Mothers", N = 32 cells) but arrest following cell division ("Daughters", N = 45 cells) are shown in the two leftmost panels. Cells that arrest in G2 (N = 40 cells) are shown in the rightmost panel. The solid lines represent population medians and the shaded area indicates the 95% confidence interval.
The molecular architecture of cell cycle arrest (2022)
Figure 4

Fig 4: Replication stress promotes mitotic skipping and cellular senescence.

A. Arrest architecture of replicative stress. 2C and 4C arrest trajectories are shown, the regions that correspond to mitotic skipping and the senescent state are annotated and the arrest trajectory of 8C polyploid cells is indicated. N = 4315 cells

B. Progression of arrest states over time following etoposide treatment. Etoposide-treated cells (upper panel: colored by condition, lower panel: colored by DNA content) populating 2C, 4C, 8C and senescent arrest states at each day of treatment (1-4 d).

C. Distribution of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-βgal) activity in individual cells following etoposide treatment (1 μM, 0-4 d).

D-K. (D) GSK3β, (E) phospho(Thr157)-p27, (F) p27, (G) CDK4, (H) cyclin D1, (I) cyclin E, (J) cell area and (K) DNA:cytoplasm ratio of etoposide-treated cells are plotted on the map. Median nuclear values are shown in D-I. Area indicated with a dotted line represents the senescent region of the map.

L-O. (L) Cyclin A, (M) cyclin B1, (N) CDH1 and (O) SKP2 of etoposide-treated cells are plotted on the map. Median nuclear values are shown. Area indicated with a dotted line shows the trajectory of mitotic skipping and transition into senescence.
The molecular architecture of cell cycle arrest (2022)
Figure 5

Fig 5: Palbociclib- and etoposide-induced arrest trajectories converge on a single state of cellular senescence.

A. Distribution of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-βgal) activity in individual cells following etoposide or palbociclib treatment (1 μM, 4/8 d). Control: N = 6050 cells, etop 4d: N = 409 cells, etop 8d: N = 732 cells, palbo 4d: N = 1837 cells, palbo 8d: N = 1677 cells. Statistical significance was determined using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Sidak's post hoc test (*** p < 0.0001).

B. Unified cell cycle map of the unperturbed (gray), palbociclib- (palbo, 1 μM, 4/8 d, blue) and etoposide- (etop,1 μM, 4/8 d, green) treated cells. Control: N = 10499 cells, etop: N = 2692 cells, palbo: N = 4931 cells

C-K. (C) DNA content, (D) phospho/total RB, (E) p16, (F) TGFβ1, (G) IL-6, (H) IL-8, (I) phospho-p38, (J) phospho-STAT3 and (K) phospho-STAT5 are plotted on the map. Median nuclear values are shown.
The molecular architecture of cell cycle arrest (2022)
Figure 6

Fig 6: Sustained replication stress can induce polyploidy through mitotic skipping and endoreduplication.

A. Arrest architecture of replicative stress. The trajectory of endoreduplication following cell cycle arrest and mitotic skipping indicated.

B-C. (B) CDT1 and (C) E2F1 are plotted on the map. Dotted line indicates the trajectory to endoreduplication. Median nuclear values are shown.

D. Representative single-cell trace demonstrating mitotic skipping and endoreduplication following etoposide treatment (1 μM) by time-lapse imaging. CDK2 activity (DHB-mCherry, blue), cell cycle phase (PCNA-mTq2, S phase shown as gray shaded area) and p21-YPet intensity (green) are plotted versus time of etoposide treatment.

E. Cyclin D1 abundance (left) and the proportion of polyploid cells (right), as measured by immunofluorescence and Hoechst staining, respectively, following siRNA-mediated knockdown of cyclin D in control and etoposide-treated cells. Boxplots show data from four independent replicates (gray circles).

F. Cyclin D1 abundance (left) and the proportion of polyploid cells (right), as measured by immunofluorescence and Hoechst staining, respectively, following doxycycline (dox)-induced upregulation of cyclin D1 in control and etoposide-treated cells. Boxplots show data from six independent replicates (gray circles).

G. Cyclin A abundance (left) and the proportion of polyploid cells (right), as measured by immunofluorescence and Hoechst staining, respectively, following doxycycline (dox)-induced upregulation of cyclin A2 in control and etoposide-treated cells. Boxplots show data from six independent replicates (gray circles).

Data information: Statistical significance in right panels of E-G was determined using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Sidak's post hoc test (*** p < 0.001, * p = 0.02). For panels E-H, boxes show the interquartile range, the whiskers indicate the full distribution of points and the central band represents the population.
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf1

(a) Induction of GFP+ dots in differentiated THP-1 cells stably expressing GFP-LC3, left untransfected or transfected for 6 h with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml), then exposed to control antibody (Control Ab), antibody to neutralize IL-1β (Anti-IL-1β), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or 3-MA (5 mM); results are presented as quantification of GFP-LC3+ dots (top) and images of individual cells (middle). Scale bars, 10 μm. (b) Expression of AIM2 and beclin-1 in cells transfected with control siRNA or siRNA targeting AIM2 or beclin-1; numbers below lanes indicate band intensity (ratio of cells transfected with targeting siRNA to those transfected with control siRNA). (c) Induction of GFP+ dots in differentiated THP-1 cells stably expressing GFP-LC3 and treated with various siRNAs (below graph), quantified 6 h after transfection with poly(dA:dT) (+) or no transfection (−). (d) Immunoblot analysis of the expression of LC3-I and LC3-II (above) in wild-type (WT) and Aim2−/− BMDMs left untransfected or transfected for 6 h with poly(dA:dT); numbers below lanes indicate division of the ratio of induced LC3-I to induced LC3-II by the ratio of basal LC3-I to basal LC3-II (band intensities). Below, immunoblot analysis of IL-1β in supernatants after overnight culture. (e) Immunoblot analysis of LC3-I and LC3-II in or wild-type, ASC-deficient (Pycard−/−; called 'Asc−/−' here) or caspase-1-deficient (Casp1−/−) BMDMs primed with LPS (20 ng/ml) and then left untransfected or transfected with poly(dA:dT) or left untreated or treated with nigericin for 4 h; numbers below lanes as in d. Actin serves as a loading control throughout. NS, not significant; *P 0.05 and **P 0.01 (unpaired t-test). Data are from three individual experiments (a,b; mean and s.d. in a), are representative of three experiments (c) or four experiments with two separate BMDM preparations (d) or are from one of four experiments with two separate BMDM preparations (e).
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf2

(a) Confocal microscopy of differentiated GFP-LC3+ THP-1 cells transfected for 3 h with Cy3-labeled poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml). Yellow dots (Merge) indicate colocalization of green (LC-3) and red (Cy3) signals. Scale bars, 10 μm. (b) Confocal microscopy of differentiated GFP-LC3+ THP-1 cells transfected to express Cy3-poly(dA:dT), imaged every 15 min starting 1 h after transfection (numbers in bottom left corners indicate time in min (m)). Arrow indicates coalescence of the Cy3 and GFP signals (also in bottom right image). (c) Confocal microscopy of differentiated GFP-LC3+ THP-1 cells sham-transfected with no poly(dA:dT) (Control) or transfected with poly(dA:dT), then fixed and immunostained for ASC (red). Insets (bottom right), 5× enlargement of areas indicated by arrowheads at left. Scale bars, 10 μm (top) or 20 μm (bottom). (d) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells transfected with poly(dA:dT) and immunostained for LAMP-1 and ASC; below, z-axis projections. Scale bars, 10 μm. (e) Confocal microscopy of differentiated GFP-LC3+ THP-1 cells treated for 2 h with LPS (500 ng/ml) and ATP (3 mM), then immunostained for ASC (red): left image in each pair, three-dimensional volume renderings reconstructed from z-stack images; right image in each pair, surface-segmentation models (2× enlargement). Scale bars, 10 μm. (f) Electron microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells stimulated with LPS and ATP (left) or transfected with poly(dA:dT) (right) for 2 h and immunostained for ASC, visualized with 15-nm gold-conjugated protein A. Red arrows indicate ASC immunostaining. Right image in each pair, 4.5× enlargement of outlined area at left. Scale bars, 500 nm. Data are representative of three experiments (a,c) or two experiments (b,d–f).
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf3

(a) Confocal microscopy of differentiated GFP-LC3+ THP-1 cells left untransfected (Control) or transfected for 2 h with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml), then immunostained for endogenous AIM2. (b) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells transfected for 3 h with poly(dA:dT), then immunostained for LAMP-1 and AIM2. (c) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells left untreated or treated for 2 h with LPS (500 ng/ml) and ATP (3 mM), then immunostained for endogenous LC3 and NLRP3. Scale bars, 10 μm. Data are representative of at least three experiments.
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf4

(a) Immunoblot analysis of AIM2, ASC and LC3-II in lysates of differentiated THP-1 cells left untransfected or transfected with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml) and left untreated or treated with 3-MA, rapamycin or amino-acid starvation, then separated into an inflammasome-enriched fraction (top) or an autophagosome-enriched fraction (middle). Bottom, immunoblot analysis of total cell lysates. (b) Immunoblot analysis of unprocessed and processed caspase-1 and IL-1β in lysates and supernatants of differentiated THP-1 cells treated as in a. (c) Immunoblot analysis of LC3-I and LC3-II (top) in lysates of mouse BMDMs primed with LPS (20 ng/ml) and left untreated or treated with alum, then left unexposed or exposed for 5 h to live (Live TB) or dead (Dead TB) M. tuberculosis (numbers below lanes as in Fig. 1d). Below, immunoblot analysis of IL-1β in supernatants of LPS-primed mouse BMDMs infected overnight with live M. tuberculosis in the presence or absence of 3-MA (2 mM); treatment with LPS and ATP serves as a positive control. Data are representative of at least two experiments.
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf5

(a) Immunoblot analysis of ASC immunoprecipitates (IP; left) and total lysates (right) of differentiated THP-1 cells left untransfected or transfected for 2 h with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml), probed for beclin-1 and ASC (below), then stripped and reprobed for p62 (above). (b) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells treated as in a, immunostained for p62 (green) and ASC (red); arrows indicate colocalized proteins. (c) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells treated for 2 h with LPS (500 ng/ml) and ATP (3mM), immunostained for p62 (green) and ASC (red): left two images, merged channel volume and surface rendering of a three-dimensional reconstruction; right four images, enlargement of images at left (yellow arrow), with arrows indicating removal of part of the signal to reveal the red signal (ASC) inside the green-stained area (p62). (d) Immunoblot analysis of lysates of cells transfected twice with siRNA with scrambled sequence (−) or siRNA specific for beclin-1 or p62; numbers below lanes indicate band intensity (as in Fig. 1b). (e) Immunoblot analysis of the inflammasome and autophagosome fractions and total lysates of differentiated THP-1 cells transfected as in d, with poly(dA:dT) included in the second transfection; lysates were prepared 4 h after the final transfection. (f) Immunoblot analysis of supernatants and lysates of differentiated THP-1 cells treated as in e; supernatants were collected after culture for 6 h in serum-free medium. Scale bars (b,c), 10 μm. Data are representative of at least two experiments.
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf6

(a) Immunoblot analysis of ASC immunoprecipitates of differentiated THP-1 cells transfected for 2h with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml), probed for ubiquitin (Ub), then stripped and reprobed for K63-linked ubiquitin (Ub-K63), then stripped and reprobed for ASC. (b) Immunoassay of differentiated THP-1 cells treated as in a with protein-dissociation buffer, followed by immunoprecipitation of ASC (24 kilodaltons (kDa)) and immunoblot analysis. (c) Confocal microscopy of differentiated THP-1 cells transfected for 2 h with poly(dA:dT), immunostained for ASC (red) and polyubiquitin (green). PolyUb, polyubiquitination. Scale bars, 10 μm. Brackets (right margins in a,b) indicate smear of ubiquitinated proteins. Data are representative of three (a,c) or two (b) experiments.
Activation of autophagy by inflammatory signals limits IL-1β production by targeting ubiquitinated inflammasomes for destruction (2012)
figf7

(a) Immunoblot analysis of lysates of human monocytes-macrophages primed with LPS (10 ng) and then transfected with poly(dA:dT) (1.5 μg/ml) or treated with nigericin (4 μM) for 6 h (numbers below lanes as in Fig. 1d). (b) Immunoblot analysis of processed caspase-1 and IL-1β (top) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of IL-1β (middle) in supernatants of monocytes-macrophages treated for 6 h with various combinations (bottom) of poly(dA:dT) (b) or nigericin (c), plus 3-MA and amino-acid starvation. *P 0.01 (unpaired t test). (d) Confocal microscopy of LPS-primed human monocytes-macrophages transfected for 3 h with poly(dA:dT) (top), treated for 3 h with nigericin (middle) or left unstimulated (bottom), immunostained for p62 (green) and ASC (red); arrows indicate colocalized proteins. Second row, three-dimensional volume rendering reconstructed from confocal z-stack images. Scale bars, 10 μm. Data are representative of at least two experiments.