FIGURE 8.

A: Western blot analysis of BDNF expression during development and progression of naïve MOG-EAE. The amount of BDNF slightly decreased at day 7 after immunization. Ctrl, healthy sham-immunized control; d7 p.i., day 7 after immunization; d1 EAE, day 1 of EAE; d8 EAE, day 8 of EAE; d21 EAE, day 21 of EAE. B: GA increases retinal BDNF concentration and activates protective intracellular signaling cascades in RGCs. In each column, Western blot analyses of different proteins using the same retinal protein lysate are shown. Note the increase of retinal BDNF levels under GA treatment. GA also induces the phosphorylation of Akt (pAkt) and MAPKs (pMAPK). The unphosphorylated forms of these proteins are similar in each group. Bcl-2 levels are increased under GA therapy whereas the expression of Bax is decreased. Expression levels of β-tubulin as a housekeeping protein were similar in the different probes analyzed. C: No differences in BDNF expression levels were found with IFN-β-1b treatment when compared with vehicle-treated animals.