Fig. 4

ER stress induces PlGF and VEGF expression in HepG2 cells. a Relative PlGF mRNA levels in HepG2 cells treated for 48 h with the indicated treatments. TUDCA: tauroursodeoxycholic acid. b Immunoblotting of cell lysates was performed to detect PlGF protein levels. All experiments were repeated three times with similar results. c Densitometry analysis of the PlGF bands normalized to tubulin and relative to the control. Quantitative results are presented as the mean ± SD. d Relative VEGF mRNA levels in HepG2 cells treated for 48 h with the indicated treatments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 compared to control. ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01, ^###p < 0.001 compared to the indicated group