Fig. 8.

Inhibition of HIF-1α abolished Nano-Ni-induced dysregulation of miR-29b, MMP-2, and MMP-9. HaCaT cells were pretreated with 30 μM of CAY10585, a HIF-1α inhibitor, for 2 h prior to exposure to 20 μg/mL of Nano-Ni for another 24 h. Cells without treatment were used as control. HIF-1α expression was determined by Western blot and a representative result of three Western blot experiments is shown (a). b is normalized band densitometry readings averaged from three independent experiments ± SE. miR-29b expression was determined by real-time PCR (c), while MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities by gelatin zymography assay (d & e). Data represent mean ± SE (n = 3). * Significant difference as compared with the control group, p < 0.05; ^# Significant difference as compared with the group with Nano-Ni treatment, but without CAY10585 treatment, p < 0.05