FIG. 8.

Inflammatory cytokine expression in brain tissue demonstrates regional changes 4 h after repeated blast traumatic brain injury. Expression of interleukin (IL)-1β (A), IL-1α (B), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α (C), and IL-6 (D) was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in the ipsilateral cortex (CTX), hippocampus (HIPP), extra forebrain (XFB), cerebellum (CB), and brainstem (BS). The mRNA levels are relative to the housekeeping gene GAPDH (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase). Data are expressed as fold change in gene expression relative to sham and are presented as box and whiskers plots; the box extends from the 25th to the 75th percentiles, the line represents the median, and the whiskers extend from smallest to largest value. Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test based on distribution of data. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001. n = 7–8 mice per group.