Figure 4.

Effect of lycopene on total and phospho-specific form of IκBα, NF-kB-DNA binding activity, and Nucling expression in amyloid-β-stimulated cells. The cells were pretreated with lycopene for 1 h, and then stimulated with amyloid-β (20 μM) for another 24 h. (A) The levels of total and phospho-specific forms of IκBα were determined by western blot analysis. Protein levels of total and phospho-specific forms of IκBα were compared with that of the loading control actin and expressed as percentage ratios of the band densities; (B) NF-κB–DNA binding activity was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Intensity of NF-κB band was densitometrically quantified relative to None group. Intensity of NF-κB band of None group was set as 1; (C) The levels of Nucling were determined by western blot analysis. Protein levels of Nucling were compared with that of the loading control actin and expressed as percentage ratios of the band densities. Data are expressed as the mean ± S.E. of three independent experiments. ** p < 0.01 vs. None (without stimulation); ⁺ p < 0.05, ⁺⁺ p < 0.01 vs. Control (with amyloid-β stimulation alone).