Figure 3.

PTEN inhibitor reverses the inhibition by proNGF of BDNF-induced Akt phosphorylation and survival of BF neurons. A, PTEN inhibitor reverses the inhibition of Akt activation by proNGF. E16 BF neurons were cultured in the presence of BDNF for 5 d. The cells were then treated with BDNF (10 ng/ml, re-added to ensure that TrkB receptors were activated), proNGF (1 ng/ml), or BDNF plus proNGF in the presence or absence of the PTEN inhibitor bpv(pic) (5 μm). Western blot analysis was performed to probe for p-Akt. Blots were then stripped and reprobed for total Akt. The blot is representative of four independent experiments. CON, Control. B, PTEN inhibitor rescues BF neurons from proNGF-induced death only in the presence of BDNF. Cultured E16 BF neurons were treated overnight with proNGF (1 ng/ml) alone or proNGF plus bpv(pic) (5 μm) in the presence or absence of BDNF (10 ng/ml). A survival assay was performed to count the number of healthy neurons in the culture and indicated as the percentage of total cells. Data are from three independent experiments and expressed as mean percent survival ± SE. The asterisk indicates values different from control by ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc analysis at p < 0.05.