Fig. 5

Low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) alleviated immobilization-triggered activation of autophagy in rabbit skeletal muscle. Male rabbits were treated with LFES on the quadriceps femoris muscle for 3 weeks after 4 weeks of immobilization. The rectus femoris was dissected after 3 weeks of LFES. A Western blotting of mTOR, p-mTOR, and Atg7 proteins. B Quantitative analysis of mTOR. C Quantitative analysis of p-mTOR. D Quantitative analysis of Atg7. E Western blotting of LC3B-I/II protein. F Quantitative analysis of LC3B-II. G Western blotting of p62 protein. H Quantitative analysis of p62. Ctrl2: control 2 group; ESG: electric stimulation group; NRG: natural recovery group; ESTG: electrical stimulation treatment group; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; p-mTOR, phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin; Atg7, autophagy-related protein 7; LC3B, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. n = 6. ^**P < 0.01 compared with the Ctrl2 group; ^&&P < 0.01 compared with the ESG group; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 compared with the NRG group