Figure 10.

Effects of apelin receptor (APJ) siRNA on the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 signaling pathway in SH-SY5Y cells with apelin-13 treatment. (A,B) SH-SY5Y cells were transfected with APJ siRNA. Western blot was applied to detect the APJ protein expression. The expression of APJ protein was inhibited by siRNA. (C–F) SH-SY5Y cells were treated with apelin-13 or pre-treated with APJ siRNA prior to apelin-13. Western blot was applied to detect the phosphorylated and total AMPKα, mTOR, and ULK1. Phosphorylation of AMPKα and ULK1 were attenuated in apelin-13 treated cell with APJ siRNA, while phosphorylation of mTOR was increased. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of three replications. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01 compared with the control; ^# p < 0.05; ^## p < 0.01 compared with the apelin-13 group.