Acetic acid activates the AMPKα signaling pathway.

<p>Hepatocytes were treated with acetate and BML-275 and were divided into a control group (0 mM acetate), a low-dose acetate treatment group (1.8 mM acetate), a medium-dose acetate treatment group (3.6 mM acetate), a high-dose acetate treatment group (7.2 mM acetate), a BML-275 group (10 μM BML-275), and a BML-275+acetate group (10 μM BML-275+3.6 mM acetate). Acetate (sodium acetate) was used in the form of neutralized acetic acid to avoid changing the pH of the medium. A: AMP content. B: ATP content. C: AMP/ATP ratio. D: Western blotting results for SIRT1, LKB1, p-AMPKα, and AMPKα. E: The protein levels of SIRT1. F: The protein levels of LKB1. G: The phosphorylation level of AMPKα (p-AMPKα/AMPKα). H: AMPKα activity. * <i>p</i><0.05, ** <i>p</i><0.01 versus the control group.