Fig. 2

Adiponectin suppresses proliferation of NPC cells via AMPK activation. A, B CNE-2 and C666-1 cells were pretreated with compound C (10 mM) followed by treatment with adiponectin (40 μg/mL) for 24 h. Cell cycle was then analyzed using flow cytometer. ^#P < 0.05 and ^##P < 0.01 compared to cells treated with adiponectin but not ComC; **P < 0.01 compared with cells treated without adiponectin and ComC. C CNE-2 and C666-1 cells viability was determined after treatment with or without adiponectin for 48 h in the presence or absence of ComC (10 μM). **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. D CNE-2 and C666-1 cells were pretreated with compound C (10 mM), p-AMPKα (Thr172) protein level was then determined by Western blot analysis after the treatment with adiponectin (40 μg/mL) for 30 min; cyclin D1, p21, and p27 protein level was then determined by Western blot analysis after the cells were exposed to adiponectin (40 μg/mL) for 48 h. E Quantitative analysis of p-AMPKα level was performed by densitometric analysis. Results are presented as mean ± SD of three independent experiments performed in triplicate. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001