Sichuan, China). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, from gram-negative bacteria E.
coli 055:B5), nicotine (Nic) and methyl lycaconitine citrate
hydrate (MLA) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Fetal
bovine serum (FBS), RMPI-1640 medium, phosphate buffered saline (PBS),
penicillin-streptomycin together with enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) detection
kit were supplied by Thermo Scientific (Rockford, IL, USA). Antibodies and BCA
protein quantitative kit were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly,
MA, USA) and Keygen Biotech (Nanjing, Jiangsu, China), respectively. Ultra-pure
water was prepared by using a Milli-Q purification system (Millipore, Bedford,
MA, USA).