Rg3 promotes mitochondrial autophagy via AMPK signal pathway activation in vitro
(A,B) Expression levels of AMPK signal pathway related proteins determined by Western blotting. LPS treatment decreased the levels of p-AMPK and ACC (p-ACC) in hepatocytes, while the Rg3 treatment reversed the inhibition effect brought by LPS, further promoting the phosphorylation of the AMPK signal pathway related proteins. (C) Representative fluorescence microscopy images of JC-1, the green fluorescence in Rg3-treated, LPS-induced hepatocytes was increased, while it decreased when exposed to Compound C. (D) Quantitative analysis of JC-1 fluorescence. (E,F) Expression levels of mitochondrial biogenesis related transcription factors determined by Western blotting. The expression levels of PGC1-α, NRF-1, and TFAM-1 were down-regulated when treated with Compound C compared with the LPS + Rg3 group. (G,H) Expression levels of autophagy-related proteins determined by Western blotting. Compound C treatment reversed the up-regulation effects of autophagy-related proteins brought by Rg3 treatment. *, P<0.05; **, P<0.01, the groups of comparison were indicated in data.