Figure 4.

Realgar NPs activated autophagy through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Notes: (A) K562 cells were treated with specific concentrations of realgar NPs (0, 5, 10, and 20 μg/mL) for 24 h. The phosphorylation levels of Akt and mTOR protein were estimated by using Western blot analysis. (B) Quantification of p-Akt/Akt shown in (A). (C) Quantification of p-mTOR/mTOR shown in (A). n=3; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, realgar NP treatment groups versus 0 μg/mL group.

Abbreviations: PI3K/Akt/mTOR, class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin; NP, nanoparticle.