Effects of copper sulfate are cell-type specific. HeLa, HEC-1A, HEK293, A549, and Beas-2 cells were incubated for 8 h with the indicated concentrations of copper sulfate. Cell lysates were then subjected to western blot analysis using antibodies against HIF-1α, p53, and DEC1. HuR served as the protein loading control. The results are representative of three independent experiments. Protein bands were quantified through pixel density scanning and evaluated using ImageJ, version 1.44a (http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/). The fold (shown above the bands) was normalized to the internal control (HuR).