Fig. 4.

Beneficial effects of BME on inflammation and ER stress–mediated apoptosis in HF-/HFr-fed mice. Livers were isolated from HF/HFr and HF-/HFr-/BME-fed mice. (a) Hepatic mRNA was isolated from mice livers, and levels of interleukin IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1 mRNAs were quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 versus HF/HFr group. (b) Proteins isolated from mice livers. NF-κB protein levels were determined by western blot analysis. **p < 0.01 versus HF/HFr group. (c, d) Expression levels of P-JNK, P-c-Jun, CHOP, and C-caspase-3 were detected by western blot analysis. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus HF/HFr group. (e) TUNEL staining of liver tissue sections showing DNA fragmentation.