Figure 3.

Involvement of the HO-1/ Nrf2 axis in the antioxidant effects of CHE. Cells were pre-treated with 2.5 or 5 μM CHE or 0.1% DMSO (vehicle control) for 2 h and then incubated with or without 500 μM H₂O₂ for an additional 24 h. Afterwards, the cells were harvested to extract RNA and protein. Expression analysis of antioxidant marker genes via RT-qPCR. All the gene expression data were analyzed using Student’s t-test (A,B). (C) Cells were pre-treated with 5 μM CHE or 0.1% DMSO for 2 h and then incubated with or without 500 μM H₂O₂ for an additional 24 h. HO-1, NQO-1, and Nrf2 protein levels were quantified via Western blot analysis. (D) HO-1, NQO-1, or Nrf2 expression level was plotted relative to the control level. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, versus the control group; # p < 0.05, ## p < 0.01, ### p < 0.01, versus the H₂O₂-treated group.