Fig. 3.

FTO overexpression induces lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. A Western blotting analysis of the FTO protein level in HepG2 cells transfected with the FLAG-FTO lentiviral (lenti-FTO) or negative control (lenti-NC) vector. B-E Oil Red O staining of HepG2 cells overexpressing FLAG-tagged FTO or the empty vector were treated with palmitic acid (PA) (0.5 mM) or 2% bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 24 h (200x magnification). F Cellular contents of triglycerides (TG) in FTO-overexpressing and control HepG2 cells stimulated with 2% BSA or PA (0.5 mM) for 24 h (n = 3 independent experiments). *P < 0.05 vs. control group