Figure 1.

Knockdown of DHX15 induces autophagy. (A) GFP-LC3 puncta were analyzed in HEK293 cells stably expressing GFP-LC3 (293-GFP-LC3 cells) after transient transfection with DHX15 siRNA (siDHX15) or a scrambled control (siControl). Representative images were obtained at 600× magnification. Scale bars: 20 μm. (B) The number of GFP-LC3 puncta per cell was quantified for each group. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Unpaired Student's t-test (n = 5). ***P < 0.001. (C) LC3-II conversion and SQSTM/p62 degradation in L02, Huh7, and HepG2 cells that had been transiently transfected with siDHX15 or siControl were detected by western blotting. LC3-II conversion and SQSTM1/p62 degradation in these three cell lines that had been transiently transfected by DHX15 plasmid or control plasmid were detected by western blotting. *P < 0.05. (D) Autophagosomes in L02 cells were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The autophagosomes are indicated by arrows. Scale bars: 1 μm. (E) Numbers of autophagosomes per 40 μm² as determined from the images. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Unpaired Student's t-test (n = 10). *P < 0.05.