Fig. 4

Akt is responsible for HSP production after heat shock treatment. A PDMCs were treated with heat shock, and Akt phosphorylation was assessed at different time points by Western blotting. B PDMCs were pretreated with DMSO vehicle, SB203580 (10 µM), SP600125 (10 µM) and PD98059 (10 µM) for 30 min, followed by heat shock treatment, and Akt phosphorylation were examined by Western blotting. C, D PDMCs were pretreated with DMSO vehicle and Akti (10 µM) for 30 min, followed by heat shock treatment. The treated cells were collected 24 h later, and gene expression of HSPs was assessed by qPCR and Western blotting. E PDMCs were pretreated with DMSO vehicle and Akti (10 µM) for 30 min, followed by heat shock treatment, and the cell viability was evaluated at different time points by MTT assay. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM. *, p < 0.05 compared with control; #, p < 0.05 compared with heat shock-treated group