Fig. 4
IL-2 activated the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in the presence of sorafenib. a,b Mitochondrial ROS production was detected in HepG2 cells. IL-2 (5 ng/ml) treatment was carried out in the presence of 5 μM sorafenib. c–e The antioxidants in HepG2 cells under IL-2 and sorafenib co-treatment were measured via ELISA. f The mPTP opening rate was analysed to determine the mitochondrial damage. IL-2 (5 ng/ml) treatment was carried out in the presence of 5 μM sorafenib. g, h Cyt-c liberation was observed via immunofluorescence. i–o Mitochondrial apoptotic proteins were analysed by western blotting. The sorafenib-mediated upregulation of apoptotic proteins was further augmented by IL-2 treatment. *P < 0.05 vs. control group; #P < 0.05 vs. sorafenib group. Cont control