Oxidative Stress Aggravates Apoptosis of Nucleus Pulposus Cells through m⁶A Modification of MAT2A Pre-mRNA by METTL16

Figure 3

Downregulation of MAT2A or upregulation of METTL16 in NPCs promotes apoptosis. (a) Successful downregulation of MAT2A mRNA or upregulation of METTL16 mRNA in human NPCs confirmed by qRT-PCR. (b) SAM concentration in the supernatants of cell culture medium measured by ELISA method. (c) Apoptosis assayed by TUNEL staining significantly increased in the NPCs with MAT2A siRNA transfection. (d) Western blot analysis for the protein markers of apoptosis in cells with MAT2A siRNA transfection. (e) Flow cytometric analysis for the apoptosis of NPCs treated by MAT2A siRNA. (f) TUNEL staining for the apoptosis of NPCs with METTL16 overexpression. (g) The expression levels of Bcl2, Bax, and cleaved-Caspase3 detected by Western blot in cells with METTL16 overexpression. (h) Flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis in NPCs with METTL16 overexpression. replicates per group, , , .

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