Fig. 8.

Western blot analysis shows that exogenously added PGE₂ induces changes similar to those caused by fluid flow shear stress. These include results for phospho-Akt (Ser473), phospho-GSK3β (Ser9), phospho-β-catenin (Ser552), phospho-β-catenin (Ser675), phospho-ERK 1/2 (Thr202/Tyr204), phospho-p38 MAPK (Thr180/Tyr182), and phospho-PKA (Thr197). Cultured podocytes were exposed to PGE₂ (1 µM) for 0, 2, 5, 15, 60, and 120 min. Total protein in cell lysates was analyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotting. β-Actin was used as the loading control. Bar graphs show fold change as ratios (experimental/control) of density of phosphorylated protein/total protein. Images of representative immunoblots are shown at left, and the trend over the 24-h period is shown at bottom. Results are presented as means ± SE of n = 4–6 replicate experiments.