Fig. 6.

Estrogen supplementation ameliorates cell pyroptosis by upregulating autophagy via estrogen receptor α. (A) Representative western blots and relative quantitative analysis of Beclin1, LC3B, and SQSTM1 in HVUECs cells that transfected with Control siRNA or ERα siRNA. (B) Representative western blots and relative quantitative analysis of NLRP3, cleaved caspase 1, and GSDMD in HVUECs cells that transfected with Control siRNA or ERα siRNA. (C) Representative western blots and relative quantitative analysis of IL-1β and IL-18 in HVUECs cells that transfected with Control siRNA or ERα siRNA. (D) Immunofluorescence images of cells that transfected with Control siRNA or ERα siRNA were taken with or without 60 nM Hcy for 12 h and in the presence or absence of 10 nM E₂. Green: GSDMD, red: ERα. DAPI was used to stain the nucleus. Mean optical density analysis of GSDMD and ERα was performed. Scale bar: 50 μm. (E) Immunofluorescence images of cells that transfected with Control siRNA or ERα siRNA were taken with or without 60 nM Hcy for 12 h and in the presence or absence of 10 nM E₂. Red: Caspase-1. DAPI was used to stain the nucleus. Mean optical density analysis of Caspase-1 was performed. Scale bar: 50 μm. In all experiments, n = 6. **P < 0.01.