(A) Four days after TNBS instillation, an increase in colonic PK2 mRNA expression was found in control colitic rats (Fisher’s LSD post-hoc, ***p<0.001 vs. control healthy rats). A reduction in PK2 mRNA levels was observed in CORT-nursed colitic animals (Fisher’s LSD post-hoc, ***p<0.001 vs. control colitic rats). The colonic relative mRNA expression levels are expressed in relation to β-actin and presented as fold increase relative to control rats. (B) Western blot analysis showed an increase in PK2 in colitic rats (**p<0.01colitic vs. healthy group). A reduction in PK2 was observed in CORT-nursed rats (*p<0.05 CORT-nursed vs. control group). Results are expressed as the ratio of the optical density (OD) of the PK2 and the β-actin band. (control healthy n = 4, control colitic n = 5, CORT-nursed healthy n = 4, CORT-nursed colitic n = 4). A representative western blot image is shown.