Figure 4.

The PI3K/Akt pathway is involved in the apoptosis induced by osthole in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) cells. (A) RBE and HCCC-9810 cells were treated with osthole (0, 50, 100 or 150 μM) for 48 h, and the expression levels of p-PI3K, Akt and p-Akt were measured by western blot assays. GAPDH was used as a loading control. (B) Cellular viability was determined after treatment with 150 μM osthole for 48 h in cells transfected with wild-type (WT)-Akt, constitutively active (CA)-Akt or vehicle plasmid. (C) The expression levels of Akt, p-Akt, Bcl-2 and Bax were evaluated by western blotting, and GAPDH was used as a loading control. (D) The apoptosis rate was evaluated by flow cytometry after treatment with 150 μM osthole in cells transfected with WT-Akt, CA-Akt or vehicle plasmid. ^*P<0.05 and ^**P<0.01 vs. control.