Fig. 3

Paeoniflorin mimicked ASK1 inhibitor and decreased the phosphorylation of ASK1 in vivo. a AutoDock results show that paeoniflorin tightly bound to ASK1, which is equivalent to the ASK1 inhibitor NQDI1. b Paeoniflorin (20, 40, and 60 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly decreased the phosphorylation of ASK1 at 2 h after administration (n = 4). The lumbar spines (L1–L6) were collected and analyzed 2 h after the drug administration. PF, paeoniflorin. Significant differences were revealed following one-way ANOVA (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 vs. control; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001 vs. CCI group; Bonferroni post hoc tests)