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 5

MBP attenuates morphological changes in astrocytes in 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 imaged. (a) Photographs depict a representative western blot of GFAP, an astrocyte marker, 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 marker. The graph shows the relative density of each band on the blots estimated quantitatively using Scion imaging software. Quantitative data are expressed as the ratio of the band intensity of GFAP 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 confocal images of immunofluorescence staining for GFAP in the lumbar spinal cord sections from the indicated groups of mice at 18 weeks old. Representative data from four separate experiments are presented. Scale bar indicates 20 μm. The graph shows semiquantitative analysis of changes in GFAP immunoreactivity in motor neurons. The fluorescence intensity of GFAP immunoreactivity was analysed quantitatively using Scion imaging software. Values represent the . Statistical significance was determined by using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test ().

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