Fig. 5

Inhibited miR-18a impedes the Akt/mTOR axis by up-regulating BDNF. a The gray value of p-Akt, Akt, p-mTOR, mTOR and BDNF protein bands in response to the treatment of miR-18a mimic, inhibitor and/or BDNF silencing; b the ratio of p-mTOR to mTOR in response to the treatment of miR-18a mimic, inhibitor and/or BDNF silencing; c the ratio of p-Akt to Akt in response to the treatment of miR-18a mimic, inhibitor and/or BDNF silencing; d the protein expression of BDNF in response to the treatment of miR-18a mimic, inhibitor and/or BDNF silencing evaluated by western blot analysis. The data were measurement data and expressed as mean ± standard error. Comparison was conducted by one-way analysis of variance among multiple groups. Each experiment was repeated 3 times; *p < 0.05 vs. the NC group; ^#p < 0.05 vs. the miR-18a inhibitor group