Figure 4.
Effects of HA on the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2)-mediated antioxidant system in HK-2 cells. (A) Levels of mRNA expression of NRF2, heme oxygenase-1 (HO1), and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase (NQO1) after treatment with 0–1000 μM HA. (B) Levels of protein expression of cytoplasmic and nuclear NRF2, HO1, and NQO1 after treatment with 0–1000 μM HA. Quantification was performed by densitometry. (C) Immunofluorescence staining for NRF2 (green) after treatment with 250 and 1000 μM HA. Nuclei (blue) were stained with DAPI. Bar = 100 μm. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. * p < 0.05 vs. control (Ctrl) cells. Experiments were repeated three to four times.