THP-1 cells were cultured with or without different concentrations of CGNs or LPS (Salmonella typhosa, Sigma) for 24 h or the indicated time. Biologically active TNF-α/β in tissue culture supernatant was measured using the WEHI 164 clone 13-cell killing assay [29]. TNF concentrations are expressed as pg/ml.

RT-PCR Analysis
Total RNA from monocytes was isolated using TRIzol Reagent™ (Invitrogen). cDNA was generated on 1 µg of total RNA in a reaction volume of 20 µl, using M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen). PCR was done in the linear range of amplification (d