Fig. 2

TA induces autophagy via activating the AMPK/ULK1 and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways. A BV-2 cells were treated with 2.5, 5, and 10 μM of TA, AICAR (1 mM), or Rap (0.5 μM) for 24 h. Then protein expressions were detected using Western blot. Bar charts indicate the ratios of p-mTOR/mTOR, p-AMPK/AMPK, p-ULK1 (Ser757)/ULK1, and p-ULK1 (Ser555)/ULK1 in BV-2 cells. B BV-2 cells were treated with TA at indicated concentrations for 24 h. Then protein expressions were detected using Western blot. Bar charts indicate the ratios of p-Raf/Raf, p-MEK/MEK, and p-ERK/ERK in BV-2 cells. C Representative fluorescence images of BV-2 cells transfected with GFP-LC3 plasmid and pretreated with CC (10 μM) or SBI (40 μM) or SCH (20 μM) for 1 h, followed by treatment with TA (10 μM) for an additional 24 h were captured. Magnification, × 40; scale bar: 50 μm. Bar charts represent the average number of GFP-LC3 puncta per cell. Error bars, S.D. *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001, n=3. (One-way ANOVA with Tukey-corrected post hoc t-tests for multiple comparisons was applied for comparison between groups). The full-length blots are presented in Additional file 1: Fig. S20