Figure 6.

Effects of melatonin on nickel-induced HIF-1α accumulation. The levels of HIF-1α protein in cells exposed to nickel with or without melatonin were evaluated by western blot (a). HIF-1α expression was silenced by transfection with RNAi construct. The effects of melatonin on nickel-caused alternation of HIF-1α (b), miR210 (c), and ISCU1/2 (d) were evaluated under condition of HIF-1α knockdown. ^∗P < 0.05 compared with the nickel-free control group, and ^#P < 0.05 compared with the same nickel concentration but with the melatonin-free group.