Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 18 pp 22412—22431

Figure 5. Anti-inflammatory role of Pim-2 in atherosclerosis via mTOR pathway regulation. (A) Representative western blot analysis of Pim-2, p-mTOR (Ser2448), mTOR, p-S6K1 (Thr389), S6K1, p-4EBP1 (Thr37/46) and 4EBP1 in the aortas of mice. β-Actin was used as a loading control (n=4 per group). (B, C) Corresponding densitometric analysis of blots in (A). (D) mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, MCP-1, TLR-4 and TNF-α, was determined by quantitative RT-PCR in the aortas of mice (n=4 per group); the values were normalized to the housekeeping gene GAPDH. (E) The concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, TNF-α and CRP, detected by ELISA in blood samples of mice (n=6 per group). *P < 0.05 versus the C57bl6 group; ^#P < 0.05 versus the OENC group; ^ΔP < 0.05 versus the KDNC group.