Figure 3.

Erythropoietin (EPO) activates AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inactivates mTOR in the injured spinal cords. The animals were intraperitoneally injected with either EPO (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 p‐AMPK/AMPK, p‐mTOR/mTOR, and p‐p70S6K/p70S6K were determined by Western blotting. β‐actin was used as the loading control. (B‐D) Histograms of the relative expression of p‐AMPK/AMPK, p‐mTOR/mTOR, and p‐p70S6K/p70S6K. Data are mean ± SD, n = 5 per group. **P < .01, *P < .05 vs the sham + saline group, ^# P < .05 vs the SCI + saline group