Figure 2

Apocynin treatment prevents oxidative stress and astrogliosis in the hippocampus early after sepsis. (A) WT mice were treated with apocynin one hour after sepsis onset. Brain oxidative stress was measured six hours after sepsis onset. Values are ratios of 4-HNE/cyclophilin B (a low molecular weight loading control) densitometry, expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 4 each group). The bottom figure shows two representative bands of Sham, Sham + Apo, Sepsis and Sepsis + Apo. The statistical significance is expressed as: *P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.001. (B) Representative digital images of Iba-1 immunoreactivity (in green) in the CA1 region indicate that apocynin treatment did not affect microglia activation. (C) Representative digital images of GFAP (in green) immunoreactivity in CA1 region indicate thickening of astrocyte processes, especially around blood vessels; apocynin treatment decreased astrogliosis after sepsis. Nuclear 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining is shown in blue. Images are representative of three independent experiments (n = 6 per experimental group). Apo: apocynin. Scale bar: 20μm.