Fig. 3

Correlation between SLC7A11 and NRF2 expression. a SLC7A11 expression was positively correlated with nuclear NRF2 expression among all the patients (n = 127). b SLC7A11 and NRF2 protein expression were analyzed in six ESCC cell lines. Western blotting revealed that SLC7A11 expression positively correlated with NRF2 level. c Sequence of the SLC7A11 promoter showing the position of the most representative putative NRF2 binding sites of the promoter. Schematic of putative NRF2 binding sites in the proximal region of SLC7A11 promoter. d Dual-luciferase reporter assays showing NRF2 acting as a trans-activator of SLC7A11 promoter activity. Luciferase activity assays (n = 3) were performed after transfection of either firefly luciferase promoter plasmid, NRF2 overexpression plasmid (TF), or TF-nc plasmid into 293T cells. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05. e Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV) snapshots of NRF2 binding sites at the promoter of SLC7A11 region