Figure 8.

Involvement of the Akt pathway in 15d-PGJ₂-induced cell death. (A) To detect proteins, cells were precultured for 24 h in 100-mm dishes. Cells were then treated with 15d-PGJ₂ at 3 μM for 1 and 24 h. Protein (15 μg) was analyzed by Western blotting for the expression of Akt and phospho-Akt. (B) To investigate the effects of an Akt inhibitor, cells were precultured for 24 h at 5 × 10³ /well in 96-well plates and treated with Akt inhibitor IV for 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by fluorescent assay, and data represent the mean ± S.D. from 6 independent preparations. Relative protein levels were quantified using ImageJ, and each Akt and phospho-Akt signal was normalized to the β-actin signal. Relative ratio of normalized Akt and phospho-Akt signal to untreated cells in each time was described.