Fig. 4.

Lithium induces nuclear translocation of NFAT2, NFAT transcriptional activation and NFAT2 protein expression in keratinocytes. A: Human keratinocytes were treated with lithium (10 mM) for 48 h, immunostained with an anti-NFAT2 antibody and visualized by confocal microscopy. One representative of three experiments is shown. Increased nuclear NFAT2 (arrow heads) was seen in the lithium group compared with vehicle control. B: Western blotting of lysates of human keratinocytes treated with lithium (10 mM) for 48 h. Protein levels were calculated by band densitometry and adjusted for GAPDH expression. All of the NFAT2 isoforms were increased by all the treatments. Band densitometry showed the following percentage increases over control: 105 kDa band, Li⁺ (293%), 95 kDa band, Li⁺ (148%). C: Lithium (2 mM) activated NFAT-luciferase at 24, 96, and 168 h. (Two-way ANOVA P = 0.039 for lithium vs. control, three replicates per treatment in 2–3 independent experiments.)