FIGURE 1.

TAT-p27 increased basal level of autophagy in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes were treated with TAT-p27 in the presence or absence of autophagy flux inhibitor Baf-A1. Autophagy, as measured by LC3-II expression and autophagosome formation, was monitored by Western blotting (A and B) and immunocytochemistry (D and E). A and B, densitometry-defined β-tubulin-normalized LC3-II levels were increased whereas p62 levels were decreased in TAT-p27-treated cardiomyocytes. C, dosage effect of TAT-p27 on the levels of LC3 and p62 in TAT protein-treated cardiomyocytes are shown. D, representative photomicrographs show cardiomyocytes fixed and stained for LC3 (green), α-actinin (red), and nuclei (blue). E, histogram shows the number of LC3⁺ dots/cell. *, p < 0.05 versus control (1); #, p < 0.05 versus Baf-A1-only group (2).