FIG. 9.

Dietary ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) prophylaxis results in increased expression of pro-restorative signaling molecules. (A) Quantitative analyses of real-time polymerase chain reaction crossing thresholds showed a significant increase in cyclic AMP responsive element binding (CREB) protein mRNA levels in the ω-3 PUFA-pre-treated group when compared with control animals at 8 weeks post-injury (analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni post hoc, p<0.05, n≥4–5). (B) Immunoblot of spinal cord samples showing Akt (60 kDa) and CREB (approximately 47 kDa) protein upregulation after dietary pre-treatment with ω-3 PUFAs. Analyses show that dietary ω-3 PUFA prophylaxis resulted in increased Akt and CREB protein levels when normalized to actin levels (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05, n=6). Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Color image is available online at www.liebertpub.com/neu