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. 2021 Sep 26;22(19):10371. doi: 10.3390/ijms221910371

Figure 6.

Figure 6

AK4 downregulation reduces HIF-1α levels and Akt signaling in PASMCs. (A,B) Representative Western blots for AK4 and HIF-1α and densitometric quantification of relative HIF-1α expression in PASMCs after AK4 downregulation followed by (A) treatment with 50 µM DFO for 6 h or (B) exposure to hypoxia (HOX, 1% O2) for 48 h; n = 3. (C) Relative mRNA expression of HIF-1α in PASMCs after AK4 knockdown (siAK4) under hypoxia (HOX, 1% O2) for 48 h, compared to control (scrambled siRNA = scramble); n = 3. (D) Representative Western blots for phospho-Akt (p-Akt) and total-Akt (t-Akt) followed by densitometric quantification of p-Akt levels in PASMCs transfected with siAK4 followed by exposure to normoxia (NOX) or hypoxia (HOX, 1% O2) for 72 h, compared to corresponding control (scramble) under NOX or HOX; n = 3–5. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001, (A–C) unpaired Student’s t-test or (D) two-way ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni multiple comparisons test.