Fig. 3

Induction of autophagy in 20-nm SiNP treated HUVECs. a–d Western blot analysis of microtubule-associated protein 1B-light chain 3 (LC3B)-I to LC3B-II conversion in HUVECs treated with the indicated sizes and concentration of SiNPs for 24 h in low serum-containing condition, and it also tested time-dependent analysis. Relative LC3-II to LC3-I ratios are indicated in the graph. Data were quantified using Image J software. e Representative images of green fluorescent protein (GFP)–LC3 punctae in HUVECs after treatment with SiNPs at 20 μg/mL for 12 h. Bar graph indicates the number of GFP–LC3 dots per transfected cells. Quantitative data are reported as means ± standard deviations. **p < 0.01 versus 30–50 nm SiNPs treated HUVECs. f Turnover assays for LC3 to determine the overall autophagic flux in HUVECs treated with 10 nM Bafilomycin A1 (lysosomal inhibitor) for 30 min and subsequently treated with 20-nm SiNP for 5 h. LC3-I to LC3-II conversion was detected by Western blot analysis