Fig. 4.

Exposures to iAs ⁺ and MAs³+ inhibited the insulindependent phosphorylation of PKB/Akt bud had no effects on GSK3 phosphorylation. Hepatocytes were exposed to iAs³⁺ (a, b, e, f) or MAs³⁺ (c, d, g, h) for 4 h with or without insulin treatment (100 nM) for the last 15 min of the exposure. The total Akt and phospho-Akt [pAkt(Ser-473) and pAkt(Thr-308)] levels (a, c), and total GSK3α and phosphor- GSK3α [pGSKa(Ser-21)] (e, g) were assessed by immunoblot. The immunoblot data were quantified using the ratios of pAkt/Akt (b, d) and pGSK3α(Ser-21)/GSK3α (f, h). Representative data from three independent experiments are shown; values in b, d, f and h are expressed as mean and SD. *Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between control hepatocytes and control hepatocytes treated with insulin, and #between insulin-treated control hepatocytes and insulin-treated hepatocytes exposed to arsenicals