FIGURE 6.

p62 is important for cell death resistance in the cadmium-transformed BEAS-2B cells. The basal expression level of p62 was measured in the cadmium-transformed BEAS-2B cells and the normal BEAS-2B cells by Western blot analysis (A). The non-transformed cells or transformed cells were exposed to various concentrations of cadmium (0–10 μm) for 24 h (B) and various times (0–24 h) with 10 μm cadmium (C); then the levels of p62 were measured. To deplete p62 levels, cells were transfected with siRNA specific to p62. After overnight transfection, the cells were exposed to 10 μm cadmium for an additional 24 h. The expression levels of p62 were examined by Western blot (D), and an apoptosis assay (E and F) was performed. The total cell death was analyzed from the annexin V/PI assay and is represented in G. The results represent the mean ± S.E. (error bars) of three independent experiments. **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001, significant difference between the experiments (ANOVA, Scheffe's test). GAPDH was used as a loading control.