Indicated cells, pretreated with/without AICAR (2 mM) for 1 h, were exposed to Cd (0–20 μM) for 4 h (A) or 24 h (B–E), followed by Western blotting using indicated antibodies (A, D), morphological analysis (B), cell viability evaluation using one solution assay (C), or ROS assay (E). For (A), (B), and (D), similar results were observed in at least three independent experiments. For (C) and (E), results are presented as mean ± S.E. n=6. aP<0.05, bP<0.01, difference vs. control group; cP<0.01, difference vs. 10 μM Cd group; dP<0.01, difference vs. 20 μM Cd group.