FIGURE 5.

A, in the absence of PTEN, Akt inhibition augments EP2 receptor gene expression. pten^−/− cells were treated with Akt inhibitor X (10 μm) for 24 h. Results are pooled from four independent experiments. *, p < 0.0001. B, restoration of EP2 by Akt inhibition (Akt inh) results in functional PGE₂ signaling. Serum-starved pten^−/− cells were stimulated with TGF-β ± PGE₂ in the absence or presence of Akt inhibitor. The graph shows the densitometric ratio of α-SMA to GAPDH (used as a loading control) for each condition, expressed as the percentage change compared with the untreated condition. Densitometry data are pooled from four separate blots. Error bars indicate ±S.D.