Fig. 1

DHE is not cytotoxic and decreases lipid accumulation and lipogenesis factors in PA-treated HepG2 cells. a HepG2 cells were treated with 0.25 mM PA and different concentrations of DHE (0, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 40 μΜ) for 24 h, and then cell viability was analyzed using Cell Counting Kit-8. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 compared with 0 μM DHE. n = 9. b HepG2 cells were treated with 0.25 mM PA and 0, 1, 5, 10 μΜ DHE for 24 h, and then lipid accumulation was evaluated using Nile Red staining. c HepG2 cells were treated with 0.25 mM PA and 10 μΜ DHE for 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h, and lipid accumulation was examined using Nile Red staining. d HepG2 cells were treated with 0.25 mM PA or with 0.25 mM PA and 10 μM DHE for 24 h, and were stained using Nile Red. The stained cells were analyzed using Columbus software. e Lipid accumulation was detected using Nile Red staining (Scalebar = 50 μm). f The protein expression of lipogenesis factors, including FAS, SCD1, Lipin1, and DGAT2, was confirmed in treated HepG2 cells using western blotting. g Relative protein levels of lipogenesis factors were assessed using the Image J program. All data are indicated as mean ± SD of at least three independent experiments. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. n = 3–4. CTL; control