Figure 7. Intracerebroventricular administration of EPO protected mice from DIO and reduced fasting blood glucose and inflammation, without affecting hematocrit.

(A–C) Mice at age 5 weeks were infused with recombinant human EPO or saline and fed HFD for 2 weeks. Cumulative weight gain (A), fat mass (B), and lean mass (C) were measured at indicated time points. (D and E) At the end of weeks 1 and 2, hematocrit (D) and blood glucose (E) were measured for EPO- or saline-infused mice. (F) Gene expression of inflammatory markers in the hypothalamus at the end of 2 weeks of EPO-infused mice, as determined by quantitative RT-PCR, normalized to saline control and adjusted to Gapdh gene expression. In box-and-whisker plots, bounds denote the 25th to 75th percentile, the lines represent the medians, and whiskers indicate the range from minimum to maximum values and includes outliers. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 (2-way ANOVA), n = 6–8/group.