Fig. 4

Asprosin stimulates Elk-1 phosphorylation and ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression by activating p38. A After 72 h of transfection with LV-Mock or LV-Asprosin, cell lysates were immunoblotted with indicated antibodies (n = 3). B–F THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells were treated with SB203580 for 6 h and then transfected with or without LV-Asprosin for an additional 72 h (n = 3). B Detection of Elk-1 phosphorylation at Ser383 using western blot. C Western blot analysis of nuclear and cytoplasmic Elk-1 protein expression. D Measurement of ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression by qRT-PCR and western blot. E, F Representative fluorescent images of NBD-cholesterol burden and quantification of cholesterol efflux to apoA-I and HDL. Data represent mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. NS indicates not significant