Fig. 6

Effects of the DRD2 agonist quinpirole and DRD2 antagonist sulpiride on the PI3K pathway in CM rats. A, B and C, The levels of AKT phosphorylation and PI3K P110β subunit were significantly increased in the CM group, and this activation was reversed by DRD2 agonism. No marked changes in the total and phosphorylated P85α subunit protein levels and total AKT protein levels among the groups were observed. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc test; n = 6/group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 vs. the Sham group; ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001 vs. the CM + DMSO group. D and E, western blotting analysis showed that sulpiride dramatically increased PI3K P110β submit and phosphorylated AKT protein levels in CM rats. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc test; n = 6/group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 vs. the Sham + DMSO group; ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001 vs. the CM + DMSO group