Comparison of transcript and protein expression levels of 9 key ATG genes in CD34⁺ normal and CML cells. (A) Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of transcript levels of 9 key autophagy genes in CD34⁺ NBM cells isolated from healthy individuals normalized to β2-microglobulin (β2M) transcript levels. Relative transcript levels of these 9 ATG genes were then compared with BECLIN-1, which displayed the lowest mRNA expression levels. (B) Comparison of transcript levels of 9 ATG genes in CD34⁺ NBM cells (n = 10) and pretreatment CD34⁺ CML cells obtained from CP CML patients (n = 28). Each data point represents the average of a triplicate quantitative measurement of each transcript normalized to β2M and relative to CD34⁺ NBM cells. Bars represent the mean of data for each group, and significantly differentially expressed genes between normal and CML groups are indicated by P values. (C) Western blotting analysis of ATG4B, ATG4D, ATG5, and BECLIN-1 in CD34⁺ cells obtained from healthy individuals (n = 4) and CML patients (n = 6). Protein expression of these proteins relative to actin was compared. Values shown are the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of measurements from healthy individuals and CML patients.