Bidens pilosa Extract Administered after Symptom Onset Attenuates Glial Activation, Improves Motor Performance, and Prolongs Survival in a Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Figure 4

MBP ameliorates motor neuron loss in the spinal cord of G93A mice. Mice were orally administered with injection water (vehicle) or MBP, starting at a late symptomatic stage (15 weeks old). Three weeks after the start of the treatment, the lumbar spinal cords were analysed by western blot and the histopathology was analysed. (a) Photographs show representative western blots of SMI32, a marker of motor neurons, in the lumbar spinal cord of male G93A mice and WT mice. Equal amounts of cell lysates (10 μg) were analysed, with β-actin as an internal control. The graph shows the relative densities of each band on the blots estimated quantitatively using Scion imaging software. Quantitative data are expressed as the ratio of the band intensity of SMI32 to the band intensity of β-actin. Each value represents the . Statistical significance was determined by using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (-7). (b) Photographs show representative cresyl violet-stained sections of the lumbar spinal cord in the indicated groups of mice at 18 weeks old. Arrows indicate motor neurons. Scale bar indicates 100 μm. The graph shows the number of surviving motor neurons in lumbar spinal cord sections from the indicated groups of mice. Values represent the . Statistical significance was determined by using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test ().

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