CD137 Signaling Promotes Endothelial Apoptosis by Inhibiting Nrf2 Pathway, and Upregulating NF-κB Pathway

Figure 3

CD137 signaling inhibits Nrf2 nuclear translocation to reduce its downstream antioxidant genes and protein expression. (a) The red-stained Nrf2 moves from the cytoplasm to the nuclei, as determined by confocal microscopy. DAPI indicates 40, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Magnification 630x, scale bars: 10 μm. (b) Summarized data. (c) Western blot analysis tested the Nrf2 nuclear and cytosolic expression. (d) RT-qPCR evaluated the mRNA expression of the target genes (GPx, HO-1, MnSOD, and NQO1) of Nrf2. (e) Western blot evaluated the protein levels of the antioxidant enzymes (GPx, HO-1, MnSOD, and NQO1) of Nrf2. Values are presented as the from three independent experiments. , , vs. oxLDL-treated cells; ^#, ^##, ^### vs. agonist-CD137 group.

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