Figure 6

Lithium reduces lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TLR4 expression and inflammatory responses by activating PI3K/Akt signaling. (a) Western blotting analysis of TLR4, p-PI3K, p-Akt and p-FoxO1 expression in LPS-stimulated primary microglia after treatment with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (10 μM) and/or LiCl (3 mM). The levels of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-FoxO1 and TLR4 (b) were quantified and normalized with the total PI3K, Akt, FoxO1 or GAPDH levels, respectively. Each value was then expressed relative to the one treated with medium, which was set as 1. (c) ELISA-based IL-6/TNF-α levels in cell culture supernatants. *P <0.05, **P <0.01 versus the response to medium alone. ^# P <0.05, ^## P <0.01, ^ΔΔ P <0.01 versus LPS treatment groups. ^&& P <0.01 versus LiCl + LPS treatment groups. The data are presented as the mean ± s.e.m. of three independent experiments.