Fig. 4.

Levels of the AQP8 expression in AQP8-knocked down cells. A: Summarized results for the AQP8 mRNA levels in 3T3–L1 cells assessed by real-time PCR. AQP8 mRNA levels were normalized to those of β-actin, and the mRNA levels of shAQP8 cells were expressed as a ratio against the controls. Data are expressed as the mean±S.D. of three independent experiments. B: Summarized results (a) and a typical western blot image (b) for the protein levels of AQP8 in shAQP8 cells. Each lane was loaded with 15 µg of protein. Intensities of the band pointed by the arrow, which has molecular weight of approximately 28kDa, were normalized to those of β-actin and expressed as the protein levels of AQP8. Data are expressed as the mean±S.D. of five independent experiments. (**p<0.01). (c) Western blots of whole cell (WC), mitochondria (Mito) and mitoplast (Mp) prepared from shAQP8 cells. Each lane was loaded with 6 µg of protein.