FIGURE 5.

Blocking of the mTOR pathway by rapamycin potentiates MBG-induced caspase 9 activation in rat neonatal cardiac myocytes. Rat neonatal myocytes were serum-starved for 48 h and treated with different concentrations of MBG or MBG combined with 10 nm rapamycin for 72 h. A, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) measurement using the culture media from control or MBG-treated cells. B, rat neonatal myocytes were treated with MBG alone or in combination with rapamycin in serum-free or 10% fatal bovine serum media. Cell lysates were collected in RIPA buffer for probing of caspase 9. The upper panel shows the representative Western blot of procaspase 9 and active caspase 9. The lower panel shows the quantitative data of active caspase 9 from three different preparations of neonatal cardiac myocytes. *, p < 0.05, MBG-treated cells in the presence of 10 nmol/liter rapamycin versus those in the absence of rapamycin.