Figure 3

NAC induces PDK1 promoter activity via PPARα. A, The human PDK1 wild type promoter construct schematic is presented. These regions contain several transcription factor binding sites including c-myc, NF-κB, p53, among others. B, A549 and H1792 cells (1 × 10⁵ cells) were cotransfected with a wild type PDK1 promoter construct (shown in A) ligated to a luciferase reporter gene and an internal control phRL-TK Renilla Luciferase Vector for 24 h using the oligofectamine reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After 24 h of incubation, cells were treated with NAC (5 mM) and Fenofibrate (10 μM) for an additional 24 h. C, A549 (1 × 10⁵ cells) were cotransfected with a wild type PDK1 promoter construct ligated to a luciferase reporter gene and an internal control phRL-TK Renilla Luciferase Vector for 24 h using the oligofectamine reagent. After 24 h of incubation, cells were treated with GW6470 (20 μM) for 2 h, followed by NAC (5 mM) and Fenofibrate (10 μM) for an additional 24 h. Afterwards, the ratio of firefly luciferase to renilla luciferase activity was quantified.