Fig. 7.

HIF-1α induced ER stress and fibrosis in OTA-exposed HK-2 cells via upregulating miR-155–5p. Cells were transfected using si-NC or si-HIF-1α, and mi-NC or miR-155–5p mimic followed by exposure of 100 nM OTA for 48 h. A: miR-155–5p levels B-C: mRNA expression of HIF-1α, fibrosis, and ER stress markers. D: protein levels of HIF-1α, fibrosis, and ER stress markers. Significant differences were expressed using Student’s t-test, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 (OTA + si-NC vs OTA + si-HIF-1α, and OTA + si-HIF-1α + mi-NC vs OTA + si-HIF-1α + miR-155–5p mimics).