EPO's effects on body weight and fat mass accumulation in the ERα−/− mice. (A) Body weight of the WT mice and ERα−/− mice are indicated for female and male mice. Symbols indicate the female WT (filled circle, solid line) and ERα−/− (open square, dotted line) mice and male WT (filled triangle, dashed line) and ERα−/− (open inverted triangle, dash-dotted line) mice. (B–C) Fat mass (B) and lean mass (C) in the ERα−/− mice and WT littermate control mice at 10 weeks and 16 weeks of age for the female and male mice (n = 12/group, ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, and ∗ means WT vs ERα−/− mice). (D–I) Measurement of body weight (D–F) and fat mass (G–I) in the WT and ERα−/− mice treated with EPO or PBS for 4 weeks for females at 4 months on the normal chow diet (NCD; D and G), females at 4 months on the high-fat diet (HFD; E and H), and males at 4 months on the HFD (F and I). Symbols indicate WT PBS (filled circle, solid line) and EPO (open square, thin line)-treated mice and ERα−/− PBS (filled triangle, solid line) and EPO (open inverted triangle, dotted line)-treated mice. (n = 6–9/group, ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗ means PBS vs EPO in the ERα−/− mice, and † means PBS vs EPO in the WT mice).