FIG. 1.

E₂ activates the PI3K/AKT pathway in endometrial LE cells. Rats were treated with E₂ for the indicated times or with vehicle (0 h). Total protein was extracted from LE cells, and phosphorylated and total AKT was analyzed by Western blot analysis (representative gels [A] and densitometry [B]). Densitometry results are expressed as the fold increase in phosphorylated (p)-AKT^Ser473 compared with control cells (0-h E₂) after normalization to total AKT (mean ± SEM, n = 3 independent LE cell samples/group; each sample contained cells pooled from two uteri). a, vs. 0-h E₂ (P < 0.01); b, vs. 1-h E₂ (P < 0.05).