Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 11 pp 9460—9469
High glucose enhances fibrosis in human annulus fibrosus cells by activating mTOR, PKCδ, and NF-κB signaling pathways
Figure 5. HG induces NF-κB-mediated fibrotic protein expression in HAFCs through mTOR and PKCδ pathways. (A, B) HAFCs were treated with NF-κB inhibitors (PDTC and TPCK; 10 μM) or transfected with p65 siRNA then applied with HG, and the indicated mRNA expression was examined by qPCR (n=5). (C) Cells were stimulated with HG, and the p-p65 expression was examined by Western blot (n=3). (D) The densitometry analysis of (C) was quantified. (E, F) HAFCs were treated with HG (3 – 33 mM) or pretreated with rapamycin or rottlerin then applied with HG, and the NF-κB luciferase activity was examined (n=5). * p < 0.05 versus the control group. # p < 0.05 versus the HG-treated group.