Proapoptotic Role of Potassium Ions in Liver Cells

Figure 4

Potassium ions affected expression of apoptosis-related proteins and mitochondrial proteins of liver cells. The expression levels of P53, apoptosis-related proteins Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, or mitochondrial protein VDAC1, ACSS1, and K⁺ channel protein HERG in liver cells were determined by Western Blotting. (a) In L02 cells, the levels of Bax, caspase-3, VDAC1, and HERG increased after being cocultured with different concentrations of potassium ions in a dose-dependent manner, and the level of Bcl-2 decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The expression level of ACSS1 has no obvious change. (b) The Bcl-2/Bax ratios in L02 cells () showed as relative optical density values of the protein bands normalized to GAPDH decreased in a dose-dependent manner. (c) In HepG2 cells, the expression levels of Bax, caspase-3, VDAC1, and HERG increased after being cocultured with different concentrations of potassium ions in a dose-dependent manner, and the expression level of Bcl-2 and ACSS1 decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Both the increasing and decreasing trends were more obvious than those in L02 cells. (d) The Bcl-2/Bax ratios in HepG2 cells () showed as relative optical densities of the protein bands normalized to GAPDH decreased in a dose-dependent manner and more obviously than in L02 cells. All data are represented as mean ± SEM. .

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