Western blot analysis of Akt, p-Akt, cleaved caspase-3, GSK-3β and p-GSK-3β

Western bot analysis was performed using proteins extracted from heart tissue samples. The DEX20 group was chosen as the treatment group used to investigate the underlying mechanisms of DEX post-conditioning, since the synthetic protective effects were more obvious in the DEX20 group compared with the DEX5 and DEX10 groups, according to serum enzyme level alterations. Western blot analyses were performed as previously described (17).