lysis buffer (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) was added, and thawed lysates were vortexed and
centrifuged. The proteins were separated by 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis and transferred onto nitrocellulose membranes. The membranes were blocked
by incubation with 5% wt/vol nonfat dry milk. Membranes were then incubated with anti-ERK,
anti-phospho-ERK, and β-actin (Sigma) Abs at the appropriate dilutions overnight at 4°C.
After incubation, the membranes were washed in Tris-buffered saline containing Tween-20
(TBST). Secondary antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase was added to the membranes
in 5% nonfat dry milk in TBST. The negative control was used as described previously. The
western blotting assay was performed at least 3 times independently, representative
results are shown.