Figure 4.

Ghrelin extends the protein half-life of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) without affecting the UCP2 mRNA level. (A) Treatment with ghrelin did not alter the mRNA level in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). (B) UCP2 half-life assay. Cells were treated with ghrelin for 24 h first, then cycloheximide was added to the cells to block mRNA translation. Both the ghrelin-treated or untreated cells were harvested at different time points to monitor the changes in the UCP2 level for the determination of the UCP2 half-life. Quantitative experiments were repeated 3 times. ^*P<0.05, significant differences between different groups.