Fig. 1.

Pioglitazone increased apoA-1 transcription and protein production. A: RT-qPCR analysis of apoA-1 mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. B: Western blotting of apoA-1 protein in the culture medium of HepG2 cells. C: Luciferase reporter assay of human apoA-1 gene promoter. Then 470 bp of the human apoA-1 promoter sequence was isolated by PCR amplification from human genomic DNA and cloned into the upstream of a Luciferase repoter in pGL3 (R2.1) basic vector. The pGL3-apoA-1-Luc plasmids were cotransfected into HepG2 cells with an internal control plasmid phRL-TK (Int-) Rluc. The cells were then treated with pioglitazone for 48 h as indicated. Luminescence in the transfected cell lysates was measured using the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System. ApoAI promoter activities are reflected by luciferase activities that are expressed as RLU to internal control Rluc. Data are expressed as mean ± SD of three experiments.