Research Article

Study of the Effects of Betaine and/or C-Phycocyanin on the Growth of Lung Cancer A549 Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Figure 3

Activation of p38 MAPK pathway on A549 after betaine and/or phycocyanin treatment. Cells were treated with either 4% betaine, 20 μg⋅L−1 of C-PC, or a combination of both molecules for 24 and 48 h. (a) Expression of p38 MAPK in different treatments was monitored by western blot. β-actin was used as a loading-control protein. (b) p38 MAPK along with β-actin band signals were quantified with the ImageJ software. After normalization with β-actin, p38 MAPK values were plotted on the graph as relative values compared to their respective controls. Bars are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. . Statistical significance between groups was assessed using repeated measures one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s posttest. UT stands for untreated condition, B stands for betaine, and PC stands for C-PC.
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