Figure 5

Role of AIF nuclear translocation in silibinin-induced cell death. (A) Cells were exposed to with 30 μM silibinin for various times and cytosolic and nuclear fractions were prepared. AIF expression was estimated by Western blot using antibodies specific against AIF. (B) Cells were exposed to 30 μM silibinin for 36 h in the presence or absence of 0.5 μM calpain inhibitor (CHO). AIF nuclear translocation was estimated by immunofluorescence using antibody specific against AIF. Nuclei were counterstained with propidium iodide (PI). Images were captured by confocal microscope and presented. Arrows indicate AIF nuclear localization. (C) Cells were transfected with mipcDNA vector for LacZ or AIF micro-RNA (mi-AIF). The expression levels of AIF were determined by Western blotting. (D) Cells transfected with LacZ or mi-AIF were exposed to 30 μM silibinin for 36 h and cell viability was estimated by MTT assay. Data are mean ± SEM of four independent experiments performed in duplicate. *p < 0.05 compared with LacZ control; #p < 0.05 compared with LacZ silibinin.