Figure 4.

Effect of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) on the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression induced by ischemia/reperfusion (IR) at seven days. Animals were subjected to 1 h of ischemia and seven days of reperfusion and were administered with 4 doses of DATS (15 mg/Kg, i.p.) every 24 h, starting 5 min before the onset of reperfusion. Brains were collected and fixed seven days after the first dose of DATS, and coronal sections (5 μm) were obtained. Immunohistochemistry was performed to identify the expression of MMP-9 in the striatum and cortex. (A) Representative images of immunohistochemistry at 40× are shown. Analysis of all images is presented as the area of positive mark to MMP-9 (µm²)/cell in the striatum (B) and cortex (C). Black arrows indicate cells positive to MMP-9. Scale bars represent 50 μm. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of 3–6 animals per group. ^a p < 0.001 vs. CT and DATS groups and ^b p < 0.001 vs. IR group.