Figure 5.
PGC-1α deficiency exaggerated ECs apoptosis through activation of VDAC1. HUVECs were pre-treated with Ad-Scr or Ad-shPGC-1α for 24 h following incubation with high glucose in the absence or presence of DIDS. A. Bcl-2 and Bax protein levels were examined by western blot. B. Representative images for cells loaded with H2DCF-DA (10 μmol/L) was captured with a fluorescence microscopy. C. Quantitative analysis of DCF fluorescence intensity assessed by microplate reader. D. Western blot showed that Ad-shPGC-1α inhibited high glucose-induced Bip/GRP78 expression. E. VDAC isoforms (VDAC1, VDAC2 and VDAC3) expression levels were determined by western blot using β-actin as an internal control. F. cell apoptosis was determined by Annexin V/PI staining. G. Quantitative analysis of the percentage of apoptotic cells. **P < 0.01 vs. control, ##P < 0.01 vs. high glucose, &&P < 0.01 vs. high glucose+Ad-shPGC-1α, n = 6.