Figure 5 | Cell Death & Disease

Figure 5

From: Dickkopf1 destabilizes atherosclerotic plaques and promotes plaque formation by inducing apoptosis of endothelial cells through activation of ER stress

Figure 5

DKK1 promotes apoptosis via endoplasmic reticulum stress in HUVECs. Cells were pretreated with PBS or 4-PBA (3 mM or 5 mM) for 1 h before and during rDKK1 (300 ng/ml) treatment. (a) Western blotting to quantify cleaved caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Bax protein expression. n=6. (b,d) HUVECs with stained nuclei (green) were considered TUNEL-positive (arrows). The percentage of TUNEL-positive cells was calculated and quantified. n=3. (c,e) Flow cytometric analysis for quantification of early apoptotic cells (i.e., Annexin V-positive and 7-AAD-negative cells, lower-right quadrant). n=3. Data are shown as the mean±S.D. *P<0.05 versus control; #P<0.05 versus only rDKK1 treatment

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