Fig. 3.

Estradiol-modulated bcl-2 gene expression in cerebral ischemia. In injury, estradiol (n = 11) significantly prevented the injury-induced downregulation of bcl-2 mRNA in the ipsilateral cortex, compared with oil-treated rats (n = 10) (*p < 0.02). In the absence of estradiol,bcl-2 gene expression declined significantly below constitutive bcl-2 expression (#p < 0.01). Injury values are graphed as a percentage of sham values. These results were repeated four times, using two independent experimental groups. Data are represented as mean ± SE.