Skip to main content
. 2021 Oct 13;12:754038. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.754038

FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

The molecular docking model shows the affinity between Betulin and AKT. Betulin promotes the phosphorylation of AKT, enhances the nuclear expression of Nrf2, and upregulates the expression of HO-1. (A) The model of Betulin. (B) The ribbon model of AKT. (C) The space filling model of the binding of Betulin and AKT protein. (D) Three-dimensional (3D) binding model between Betulin and AKT protein. The backbone of the protein was rendered in tube and appears bright blue; Betulin is rendered yellow; the yellow dash represents the hydrogen bond distance, and the binding energy of the two is −6.68 kcal/mol. (E) Two-dimensional binding model between Betulin and AKT protein. The chondrocytes were treated with betulin (50 μM) for 0, 30, 60, and 120 min. (F–G) The protein levels of nuclear Nrf2 (Nu-Nrf2), p-AKT, HO-1, and cytoplasmic Nrf2 (Cy-Nrf2) were detected by Western blotting and quantitatively analyzed. The data in the figure are represented as the mean ± SD, **p < 0.01 compared with the control group, n = 3.