Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 18 pp 18436—18452

Figure 5. Autophagy blockage abolishes the protective effects of HMGA2 overexpression against H₂O₂-induced cell death, cell senescence and decreased S-phase cell number. hTSCs transfected with lenti-HMGA2 (HMGA2 OE) or the empty virus (nc) were incubated with 3-MA and rapamycin for 24 h, alone or in combination as indicated, and subsequently exposed to 0.5 mM H₂O₂ treatment. Untransfected cells (mock) were included for comparison. (A) Cell viability was determined by the CCK-8 assay after 24 h of H₂O₂ treatment. (B) Cell senescence was assessed by β-gal staining after 72 h of H₂O₂ treatment. (C) Cell cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry after 24 h of H₂O₂ treatment. The data shown are from three replicates and are indicated as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.