FIG. 4.

MeHg-induced changes in the mRNA level of antioxidant genes downstream of Nrf2. Astrocytes were treated with indicated concentrations of MeHg for 3 h. The mRNA levels of xCT (A), NQR (B), and HO-1 (C) were measured by real-time RT-PCR. The differences in the average threshold cycle (ΔCt) values were determined and normalized to the expression of 18s rRNA. Each point represents the average of three separate experiments performed in duplicate (mean ± SE) (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; significantly different from control untreated cells; one-way ANOVA and Dunnett post hoc test).