Fig. 2

Expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α proteins in thyroid lesions. Samples containing 40 μg of proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE and stained with silver method to check their quality and total protein content or transferred onto membranes for immunodetection. Representative silver stained samples and Western blots of HIF-1α and HIF-2α detection in thyroid lesions are shown in a and b, respectively; nodular goiter (NG; n = 44), follicular adenoma (FA; n = 13), papillary carcinoma (PC; n = 33) and follicular carcinoma (FC; n = 7). The intensity of bands corresponding to HIF-1α and HIF-2α was analyzed by densitometry and integrated optical density (IOD) was normalized by protein content and reference sample (see Methods for details). Graphs represent mean IODs of bands from all analyzed samples. The results are presented as a mean ± SEM for HIF-1α (c) and for HIF-2α (d). e and f –expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α, respectively in papillary carcinoma samples characterized by different tumor stages (I n = 8; II + III n = 13; IV n = 12); g and h - expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α, respectively, in papillary carcinoma samples characterized by lymph node metastasis status (with metastases, n = 17; without metastases, n = 16). * p < 0.05; R - reference sample