Fig. 3

Inhibition of AKT and ERK1/2 signaling pathways increases the antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of miR-34a. MesoII cells were transfected with Ctrl, Neg, or miR-34a for 24 h and successively exposed to vehicle (DMSO, unt) or low concentrations (corresponding to IC₂₀ values) of A6730 (AKT inhibitor, 5 μM) and/or CI-1040 (MEK inhibitor, 3 μM). a Expression and phosphorylation status of AKT and ERK1/2 and amount of cleaved CPP32 at 72 h after drug treatment were assessed by western blot. Actin was used to confirm equal protein loading. A representative experiment of three was reported. The panel shows cropped blots. b The effects of AKT and MEK inhibitors on the growth of miR-34a-transfected cells were assessed by cell counting. Data are expressed as percentage of the proliferation of miR-34a- versus Neg-transfected cells. The cell growth inhibition curve of STO cells after enforced expression of miR-34a was reported for comparison. Means ± SD values of three independent experiments are shown