Figure 7. Schematic representation of the proposed anti-apoptotic signalling pathways triggered by liraglutide in ischaemic neurons.

Liraglutide activates the PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathways, and phosphorylated Akt and ERK up-regulate the expression level of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl can inhibit ROS generation, and the reduced level of ROS in turn decreases the inhibition of AKT and ERK activity, which ultimately inhibits the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic signalling pathways to block apoptosis. The pathways supported by our current data are indicated by blue arrows and the pathways that were shown in previous studies are indicated by black arrows.