Fig. 4: LH-induced adverse effects on various endometrial stem cell functions are mediated through ERK1/2 or Akt signaling pathway.

A schematic diagram describing the roles of PI3K/Akt or FAK/ERK1/2 signaling in controlling LH-induced adverse effects is shown (A). Endometrial stem cells were treated with or without 25 nM LH for 10 min. LH-induced changes in Akt, ERK1/2, FAK, and PI3K signaling activities were examined using western blotting (B, C). Next, cells were treated with 25 nM LH alone or simultaneously transfected with an LHR targeting shRNA. Subsequent changes in these signaling activities were examined using western blotting (D, E). In addition, information in the GEO data repository was used to analyze the interconnections between LH overexpression and the relative expressions of PI3K, AKT2, FAK, or ERK (F). β-actin was used as an internal control to normalize protein expression. All experiments were performed in triplicates. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.005; and ***, p < 0.001 (two-sample t test).