Fig. 2.

Effect of 18B12 treatment on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) pathways and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression. Western blot analysis for IkB-α, NF-kB, and iNOS proteins in the spinal cord were detected at 24 h after SCI. (a) IkB-α levels were reduced substantially in 18B12 tissues compared with spinal cord injury (SCI) mice. (b) NF-kB p65 levels in the SCI mice were increased significantly compared to sham mice. Low levels of NF-kB p65 were found in 18B12-treated animals. (c) A substantial increase in expression of iNOS was found in SCI mice compared with control; 18B12 considerably reduced iNOS expression. Data were normalized on the basis of β-actin and Lamin A/C levels. A representative blot of lysates obtained from 5 animals/group is shown and densitometry analysis is reported for all animals. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of 10 mice from each group. *p < 0.1 vs sham; ^# p < 0.1 vs SCI