Fig. 5.

Role of JNK pathway-induced autophagy in punicalagin-mediated degradation of E6 and E7. (A) The E6 and E7 levels in HeLa cells treated with 140 μM punicalagin or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; control) or pretreated with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC; 10 mM), 3-MA (5 mM) or SP600125 (20 μM) for 1 h, followed by treatment with punicalagin for 6 h were assessed using western blotting. (B) HeLa cells were transfected with 100 nM short-interfering RNA (siRNA) against JNK or control siRNA. At 48 h post-transfection, the cells were treated with 140 μM punicalagin for 6 h. The E6 and E7 protein levels and JNK knockdown efficiency were analyzed using western blotting. (C–E) The levels of ATG5 in wild-type (WT) and ATG5 knockout (KO) HeLa cells were examined using western blotting (C). The levels of LC3-II (D), E6, and E7 (E) in WT and ATG5 KO cells treated with 140 μM punicalagin for 6 h were analyzed using western blotting. All experiments were repeated three times.