Inhibition of eIF2α Dephosphorylation Protects Hepatocytes from Apoptosis by Alleviating ER Stress in Acute Liver Injury

Figure 6

PERK knockdown aggravates TG-induced ER stress and apoptosis in LO2 cells. LO2 cells were pretreated with PERK shRNA or control RNA for 48 h and then incubated with or without TG (0.5 μmol/L) for another 24 h. (a) Detected protein levels of PERK, p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF4, ATF6, XBP1s, CHOP, and cleaved caspase-3 in control shRNA (control shRNA pretreatment and DMSO incubation), PERK shRNA (PERK shRNA pretreatment and DMSO incubation), control shRNA+TG (control shRNA pretreatment and TG incubation), and PERK shRNA+TG (PERK shRNA pretreatment and TG incubation) groups by Western blot. (b) Bar chart showing the cell viability among the different experimental groups as determined by the MTS assay. (c) Cell apoptotic index determined by flow cytometry. Representative blots from four independent experiments are shown. Histograms showing the of four independent experiments. versus the control shRNA group. ^† versus the control shRNA+TG group.

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