Figure 9.

Enhancement of autophagic activity with 2-APB and rapamycin improves E. coli-induced damage response. Primary bEECs were either uninfected or infected with E. coli for 6 h after pretreatment with rapamycin (10 μM) or 2-APB (50 μM). (A) Western blot analysis of cytochrome c levels. (B) ATP content was detected by an ATP assay kit. (C) The expression of ERS-related proteins (GRP78, p-IRE1, p-eif2α, and ATF6) was measured by Western blot. (D) Fluo-8 AM was used to monitor cytosolic Ca²⁺ levels in real time. Cells were exposed to E. coli for up to 20 min. Con, no infection control. The data are means ± SEM of three independent experiments. Bars with different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05).