Fig. 7.

HK activation following LPS exposure is mediated through EGF receptor (EGFR)/Akt signaling. One hour before LPS administration, as described above, mice were treated with a single dose of either gefitinib (100 mg/kg ip; A), MK-2206 (100 mg/kg; B), or vehicle control. HK activity was determined in the renal cortex at 3 h after systemic LPS administration. Immunoblot analysis revealed increased activation/phosphorylation of Akt 1 h after LPS exposure (C and D). Levels of phosphorylated Akt were normalized to total protein expression and are presented as fold-change vs. control animals. Data are expressed as means ± SE for each experimental group. Superscripts above bars indicate statistically significant differences between groups (P < 0.05).