Fig. 6.

Astaxanthin (ATX) scavenges total body irradiation (TBI)-induced excessive ROS by upregulating NRF2 and its downstream anti-oxidant proteins. a The NRF2 protein level in c-kit-positive cells was determined using the immunofluorescence method. b Expression of NRF2 protein was analyzed by Western blotting. The enzyme activities of c SOD2, d CAT, and e GPX1 were analyzed by respective assay kit. The levels of intracellular f HO-1 and g NQO1 expression was analyzed by flow cytometry. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM (N = 3 in b–e and N = 5 in f, g). ^a P < 0.05 vs control; ^b P < 0.05 vs TBI. MFI mean fluorescence intensity