Fig 2: PI3K/AKT phosphorylation is activated by FXN. (A) The cells were treated with ZEA or FXN for 24 h. Western blotting results list the relative ratios of PI3K and AKT expression. (B,C) The cells were pre-treated with PI3K/AKT inhibitors for 2 h and then treated with FXN with or without ZEA for 24 h. Western blotting detected pAKT and Nrf2. (D) A Western blot was conducted after cells were exposed to SnPP for 1 h, followed by treatment with ZEA and FXN for 24 h. Values are presented as the mean and standard error of the mean (SD). One-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc test analysis was used for inter-group comparison. A significant difference is defined as a difference between the mean and standard deviation of three duplicates (n = 3), with * p < 0.05 control vs. ZEA and # p < 0.05 ZEA vs. pre-treated.