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Figure 3 | Molecular Cancer

Figure 3

From: Valproic acid and butyrate induce apoptosis in human cancer cells through inhibition of gene expression of Akt/protein kinase B

Figure 3

Valproic acid and butyrate induce caspase activation. (A) Equal amounts of whole cell extracts (50 μg) were used for Western blot analysis of caspase-3 in HeLa cells upon treatment with valproic acid (VPA, 2 mM) or sodium butyrate (NaB, 5 mM) for 16 or 24 hours. The blots were then stripped and reprobed with a β-actin antibody for protein loading controls. (B) The level of caspase-9 mRNA in the HeLa cells was examined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis following valproic acid or butyrate treatment. Error bars represent standard deviations of three independent experiments. (C) and (D) Following 16 hours of valproic acid or butyrate treatment, the HeLa cells were harvested and assayed for caspase-9 and caspase-8 activities in parallel. Results show fold induction of the activities relative to untreated controls after background subtraction of zero time signals. Error bars represent the standard deviations of five independent experiments.

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