Figure 2.

Erythropoietin (EPO) induces autophagy in the injured spinal cords. The animals were intraperitoneally injected with either EPO (1000 or 2000 U/kg) or saline immediately and 24 h after surgery. The spinal cord tissues were collected at 3 d after injury. A, The protein levels of LC3II/I, Beclin 1, and p62 were determined by Western blotting. β‐actin was used as the loading control. B‐D, Histograms of the relative expression of LC3II/I, Beclin 1, and p62. E, Representative immunofluorescent staining of LC3 (Green) and NeuN (Red). Scale bars are 5 μm. Data are mean ± SD, n = 5 per group. **P < .01, *P < .05 vs the sham + saline group, ^## P < .01, ^# P < .05 vs the SCI + saline group