Journal: Scientific Reports
Article Title: Endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor protein PERK in hepatic stellate cells promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via p38δ MAPK/IL-1β axis
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-04150-w
Figure Lengend Snippet: PERK regulates p38δ MAPK expression in HSCs. RNA-sequencing analysis is performed using the RNAs collected from PA-treated LX-2 cells and PERK siRNA-transfected PA-treated LX-2 cells. DEGs between PA (n = 3) and PERK siRNA + PA (n = 3) are determined using CLC Genomics Workbench v24. The mRNAs with a fold change > 2 and FDR p -value < 0.05 between the two groups are selected as DEGs. ( a ) DEGs are visualized using the heatmap. ( b ) Volcano plots show that EIF2AK3 (PERK), IL1B (IL-1β), and MAPK13 (p38δ MAPK) are markedly downregulated in PERK siRNA + PA compared to PA. Furthermore, p38δ MAPK expression is examined in PERK-knockdown and PERK-overexpression LX-2 cells. ( c ) p38δ MAPK mRNA ( c ) and protein ( d ) expression are evaluated using RT-PCR (n = 4) and WB, respectively. Supplementary Fig. presents the original membranes of WB. p38δ MAPK mRNA ( e ) and protein ( f ) expression are evaluated using RT-PCR (n = 4) and WB, respectively. Supplementary Fig. shows the original membranes of WB. Data are presented as the mean ± SE. Statistical analysis is performed using Student’s t -test. ** p < 0.01. Abbreviations : PERK, protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; WB, western blotting; RT, reverse transcription; siRNA, small interfering RNA; HSCs, hepatic stellate cells; SE, standard error; PA, palmitic acid; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; FDR, false discovery rate.
Article Snippet: PERK (RG214993) and p38δ MAPK (RC200606) plasmids were obtained from Origene (Rockville, MD), and pCMV6 was used as the control plasmid.
Techniques: Expressing, RNA Sequencing, Transfection, Knockdown, Over Expression, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, Western Blot, Reverse Transcription, Small Interfering RNA