Figure 3.

NiONPs-induced collagen-1 and αSMA expressions are HIF-1α dependent. (A-E) Human fetal lung fibroblasts were exposed to NiONPs suspensions with concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μg/cm² for 24 h. (A) HIF-1α and (B) HIF-2α expressions were analyzed by western blot and normalized to GAPDH. (C-E) Relative levels of HIF-1α-controlled genes (LOX, PAI-1 and VEGF) were determined by qPCR and normalized to GAPDH. (G-J) Human fetal lung fibroblasts were pretreated with 10 mM (+) and 20 mM (++) 2-DG (HIF-1α inhibitor) for 2 h and then exposed to 2 μg/cm² NiONPs for 24 h. Collagen-1 and αSMA expressions were analyzed by qPCR and western blot and normalized to GAPDH. The value was expressed as fold changes relative to controls. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 compared with control. Results were represented as mean ± SEM at least three independent experiments.