FIG. 5.

Inhibition of UCH-L1 activity leads to ER stress and apoptosis in INS 832/13 cells. A: INS 832/13 cells were treated for 18 h with UCH-L1 inhibitor, LDN-57444, at increasing concentrations. Apoptosis was assessed by measuring caspase-3 activity in lysates. The activity was normalized to the total protein content. Data are expressed as means ± SE (n = 4). ***P < 0.001, significant differences vs. cells treated with vehicle DMSO (Ctrl). B: INS 832/13 cells were treated or not with LDN-57444 (50 μmol/l) for 18 h. Levels of CHOP and cleaved caspase-3 were analyzed by Western blot. Actin was shown as loading control. C: INS 832/13 cells were treated with LDN-57444 (50 μmol/l) for 8 h (b) or not treated (a). The detection of CHOP (arrows) was assessed by immunofluorescence (CHOP, red; nuclei, blue) (n = 3). (A high-quality digital representation of this figure is available in the online issue.)