Figure 4.

Remote ischemic conditioning increases the 2,3-BPG level in red blood cells, leading to an increased P50 value, a shift of the oxygen dissociation curve (ODC) to the right, and more oxygen exchange in tissues. (a) The 2,3-BPG levels in red blood cells of RIC-treated group and non-RIC-treated control group mice were measured using the procedure described in the Materials and methods section and compared by the Student’s t-test (6 mice per group). (b) P50 was measured before and after RIC and compared by the paired t-test (n = 6). (c) A representative ODC before and after RIC showed that RIC led to a shift in the ODC to the right (blue line). (d) Venous blood SO₂ levels before and after RIC. The data were compared using the paired t-test (n = 6). (e) Venous blood HbO₂ levels before and after RIC. The data were compared using the paired t-test (n = 6). **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. The findings were similar when the same experiment was repeated on two occasions independently. 2,3-BPG: 2,3-biphosphoglycerate. HbO₂: blood oxyhemoglobin; ODC: oxygen dissociation curve; P50: partial pressure of oxygen at 50% oxyhemoglobin saturation; SO₂: oxygen saturation.