Fig. 8

Treatment with CCCP enhances autophagy/mitophagy, particularly in Fkbp51 KO. A Fkbp51 KO and WT MEFs treated with DMSO or CCCP were assessed for the expression of the autophagy/mitophagy marker LC3. Both Fkbp51 KO and WT exhibit increased expression of LC3, localizing to the mitochondria, with Fkbp51 KO expressing the highest in both conditions. B–D Western blotting revealed KO exhibiting higher levels of LC3B II/I and p62/VDAC in mitochondrial and total fractions following CCCP treatment. Levels of pDRP1/DRP1 were higher in KO mitochondria, but lower in the total fraction. E Evaluation of apoptosis in control and CCCP treatment. F ROS levels were assessed by CellROX Green fluorescence intensity via flow cytometry. CCCP treatment showed a peak shift in WT MEFs only. Graphs represent mean values ± SEM from 3 independent experiments. p values were determined by two-way ANOVA with the statistical significance labeled as follows: *as p < 0.05, **as p < 0.01, *** as p < 0.001 and **** as p < 0.0001. Key: WT, wild type; KO, Fkbp51 KO; Mito, mitochondria