Figure 6.
Effect of HT on caspase-independent protein AIF expression and nuclear translocation from the mitochondria. (A) Histogram illustrating the relative expression of AIF in the DRN block as determined with qRT-PCR (n=3/group). Although the difference was not statistically significant, there was a downward trend in AIF gene expression in E and E+P-treated animals. (B) Immunoblot examining AIF expression in the mitochondria (mAIF) and in the nucleus (nAIF) of representative Ovx control, E and E+P treated animals. There appears to be more AIF in the mitochondrial fraction and less AIF in the nuclear fraction with E+P treatment. (C) Histograms illustrating the optical density of mitochondrial AIF and nuclear AIF as the percentage of Ovx control (n=4/group). There was a significant difference between the groups for nuclear AIF (ANOVA p < 0.05). Nuclear translocation of AIF from mitochondria was significantly decreased in E+P-treated animals (posthoc comparison p<0.05).