Figure 3

Curcumin attenuated brain injury post-trauma. (A) The effect of different concentrations of curcumin on TLR4 expression in injured tissue at 24 hours post-trauma. Curcumin treatment decreased the neurological deficit scores (B) and brain water content (C). (D) Representative TUNEL-stained and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-stained brain sections at 24 hours post-trauma. (E) Representative Fluoro-Jade B (FJB)-stained brain sections at 24 hours post-trauma. (F) Quantification analysis indicated that curcumin-treated mice had significantly fewer TUNEL-positive cells in the pericontusional tissue than vehicle-treated mice. The percentage of TUNEL-positive cells is expressed as the number of TUNEL-stained nuclei divided by the total number of DAPI-stained nuclei. (G) Quantification showed that curcumin-treated mice had significantly fewer degenerating neurons than vehicle-treated mice in the pericontusional tissue. The total number of FJB-positive cells is expressed as the mean number per field of view. Values (mean ± SD) are representative of two independent experiments (n = 6 mice/group). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. Bar = 20 μm.