Figure 3

Effects of pitavastatin on hepatic steatosis, activation of the AMPK-α protein in the liver, and serum levels of FFA, total cholesterol, and triglyceride in DEN-treated db/db mice. (A) Frozen liver sections from experimental mice with or without pitavastatin treatment were stained with Oil red O to show steatosis (upper panels). Hepatic lipids were extracted from the frozen livers of these mice, and the triglyceride levels were measured (lower panel). Values are the means ± SD. * P < 0.001 vs. the untreated group. (B) The total proteins were extracted from the livers of experimental mice and the expression levels of the AMPK-α and p-AMPK-α proteins were examined by western blot analysis (upper panel). The intensities of the blots were quantified by densitometry (lower panel). GAPDH antibody served as a loading control. Two lanes represent protein samples obtained from 2 different mice in each group. Repeat western blots yielded similar results. Values are the means ± SD. * P < 0.05 vs. the untreated group. (C) The serum concentrations of FFA, total cholesterol, and triglyceride in all groups. Values are the means ± SD. * P < 0.01 and ** P < 0.001 vs. the untreated group, respectively.