Fig. 3

Rotenone activates the LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 signaling pathway in the thoracic aorta and RTAEC. Thoracic aortic autophagy levels were measured in rats 28 days after gavage modeling, and RTAEC was treated for 24 h by exposure to different concentrations of rotenone. A Detection of ROS and ATP levels in RTAEC. B Western blotting was used to detect P-LKB1, P-AMPK, and P-ULK1 protein expression in the thoracic aorta. C qRT-PCR was used to detect changes in LKB1, AMPK, and ULK1 genes. D Western blotting was used to detect the expression of P-LKB1, P-AMPK, and P-ULK1 proteins. The results were expressed as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ^#P < 0.05 vs. DMSO; ^##P < 0.01 vs. DMSO; *P stands for P < 0.05; **P stands for P < 0.01 (Comparison of different doses of rotenone between groups)