Fig. 4

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) release by PBMC treated with Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom (TsV) for 96 h. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC; 5.0 × 10⁵ cells) were labeled with carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE; 2.5 μM) and cultured with TsV (25, 50, and 100 μg/mL) alone or in combination with phytohemagglutinin (PHA; 2 μg/mL) for 96 h. The levels of IL-6 in culture supernatants were determined by flow cytometry. CFSE: CFSE-stained cells cultured in RPMI 1640; PHA: PHA-stimulated cells (positive control); 25, 50, 100: cells incubated with 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL TsV, respectively; PHA + 25, PHA + 50, PHA + 100: cells incubated with PHA plus 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL TsV, respectively. Each column represents the mean ± SEM of five experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 vs. CFSE