Pomegranate Bioactive Constituents Suppress Cell Proliferation and Induce Apoptosis in an Experimental Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Role of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway
Figure 5
Effects of PE on β-catenin expression during DENA-evoked hepatic preneoplasia in rats. (A) Representative immunohistochemical localization of β-catenin in nucleus ((b), (c), and (d); red arrows) and cytosol ((b), (c), and (d); black arrows) (magnification: 100x). Several groups are (a) normal control; (b) DENA control; (c) PE 1 g/kg plus DENA; and (d) PE 10 g/kg plus DENA. (B) Quantification of nuclear β-catenin-immunopositive cells in rat livers of several experimental groups. One thousand hepatocytes were counted per animal and the results were based on 4 animals per group. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM (). as compared to normal group; as compared to DENA control. (C) Quantification of cytoplasmic β-catenin-immunopositive cells in rat livers of several experimental groups. One thousand hepatocytes were counted per animal, and the results were based on 4 animals per group. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM (). as compared to normal group; as compared to DENA control. (D) Representative Western blot indicating protein expression levels of β-catenin in various experimental groups and (E) representative RT-PCR analysis of β-catenin expression in various groups of rats. Total hepatic RNA was isolated, subjected to reverse transcription, and resulting cDNA was subjected to RT-PCR analysis using specific primer sequence. The GAPDH was used as the housekeeping gene.
