Figure 6.

FO protects the brain against focal ischemia via HO-1. Mice were fed with a regular diet (Reg.) or FO-enhanced diet for 6 weeks followed by 60 min MCAO. A, Representative Western blots and semiquantitative analyses of HO-1 levels in mouse brain after ischemia, showing increased HO-1 levels in the FO group (n = 3, *p ≤ 0.05 vs sham and regular diet at the same time points). B, Representative microphotographs of HO-1 expression and cellular distribution in the ischemic core and surrounding regions at 1 or 3 d after ischemia. HO-1 was stained red and cellular markers were stained green. Scale bar, 50 μm. Insets show high-power images of representative cells. C–E, Neurological score (C), infarct volumes (D), and representative TTC staining (E) at 48 h after MCAO, showing that FO treatment reduced neurological dysfunction and infarct volumes and that protection was partially blocked by Sn-PPIX, a HO-1 activity inhibitor (n = 6, *p ≤ 0.05 vs Reg., #p ≤ 0.05 vs FO mice injected with vehicle).