Fig. 2. Effect of midazolam on production of interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40 and endocytotic activity in murine bone marrow–derived dendritic cells, which were harvested and exposed (or not exposed) to midazolam on day 6. On day 7, dendritic cells were stimulated with 100 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide for 24 h. Results are presented as mean ± SD (N = 8). *P < 0.05, control versus midazolam. (A ) In culture supernatant, IL-12 p40 expression was measured by cytokine-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. (B ) Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated dendritic cells with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran was analyzed on CD11c-phycoerythrin positive cells by flow cytometry. The uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran is shown as the product of mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) at 37°C − mean fluorescence intensity at 4°C.