Fig. 2

High glucose activated the STAT3 pathway in Met-5A cells. Cells were incubated with high glucose (60 mmol/L, A) or high mannitol (60 mmol/L, C) for different time (0, 5, 15, 30, 60 min). Western blot analysis was performed to detect the protein expressions of p-STAT3 and STAT3. The relative ratios of p-STAT3 to total STAT3 were expressed as the mean ± SE of three experiments (B). D, E Met-5A cells were incubated for 30 min with high glucose (60 mmol/L) or in combination with different concentrations of STAT3-specific inhibitor S3I-201(2.5, 5, 10 μM, pretreated for 1 h), and the relative ratios of p-STAT3 to total STAT3 were expressed as the mean ± SE of three experiments (E). P values were determined by t tests. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ns. not significant