Figure 4

Elevated TSH triggered the liver ER stress response.
(A) Male C57/BL6 mice were administered methimazole (MMI, 0.08 mg/kg·BW·d, SCH group, n = 6–8) or a corresponding volume of vehicle (control group, n = 6–8) for 12 weeks and the expression of proteins in the ERS pathway was detected by western blot analysis (n = 6). The relative protein levels were quantified by densitometry and normalized to GAPDH or the corresponding total protein levels. (B) The Bip/IRE1α/XBP-1 pathway was analyzed in HepG2 cells treated with different doses of TSH (6 hours) using western blotting. Meanwhile, HepG2 cells were treated with TM (2.5 μg/ml) as a positive control, as it is a well-known agonist of ER stress. The relative protein levels were quantified by densitometry and normalized to GAPDH or the corresponding total protein levels. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. *p < 0.05 compared with the control group. The results are representative of 3 independent experiments.