Figure 5. UV-induced SEK1/JNK activation and c-Jun phosphorylation are inhibited by H(H₂O)_m treatment in HaCaT cells.

(A) Cells were pre-treated with H(H₂O)_m for 15 min, then irradiated with UV and post-treated with H(H₂O)_m for 15 min in PBS. After incubation for 30 min, total cell lysates were prepared. Western blotting were performed using phospho-specific (p−) and total (T−) JNK, c-Jun, SEK1 and ERK antibodies. Level of β-actin was used as loading control. The bands are representative of results from three independent experiments. (B) Results are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 3), ** p<0.01 versus the control, ^# p<0.05 versus UV-irradiated cells. (C) Intracellular phospho-c-Jun levels in cells were visualized using a fluorescent microscope and the images presented are representative of the fluorescence levels observed in three separate experiments.