The Role of Unfolded Protein Response in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Perk and IRE1-<i>α</i> as Two Potential Therapeutic Targets

<div>Activation of the UPR target genes in degenerated NPCs. (a) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in N-NPCs and D-NPCs. The morphology of ERs was showed with white arrows. The results showed more dilated and abundant ERs in D-NPCs. (b) The expressions of the UPR target genes (PERK, GRP78, and CHOP) in N-NPCs and D-NPCs were determined by real-time PCR. The results were normalized to GAPDH mRNA expression. (c) Western blot analysis showed the protein levels of PERK, GRP78, and CHOP in N-NPCs and D-NPCs. <i>β</i>-Actin was used as an internal control. The representative results were from three independent experiments. 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Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

fig1

Figure 1

Figure 1: The Role of Unfolded Protein Response in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Perk and IRE1-<i>α</i> as Two Potential Therapeutic Targets 

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

The Role of Unfolded Protein Response in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Perk and IRE1-α as Two Potential Therapeutic Targets

Figure 1