Figure 5.

The clock gene Bmal-1 is an important regulator of AMPK in Müller cells. rMC-1 cells were treated with metformin, AICAR, or vehicle (UT, untreated), and the Bmal-1 levels were determined using western blots. The representative images of western blots and bar charts show upregulation of Bmal-1 after treatment with (A, B) metformin (n = 4) or (C, D) AICAR (n = 5; ^*P < 0.05, Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA followed by Dunn's test). (E) AMPKα1 siRNA-transfected rMC-1 cells show a decrease in Bmal-1. (F) The bar chart shows the quantification of integrated optical density (n = 5).