Fig. 4

Quercetin reduced myelin and axonal loss after SCI. a Spinal cords at 21 dpi were processed for Luxol fast blue. b Double-staining of MBP/NF200 in transverse sections. Immunofluorescence image of MBP and NF200 in lateral and dorsal funiculus of cords in sham, saline, or quercetin-treated rats at 21 dpi after SCI. Transverse cryosections were selected 2000 μm rostral to the lesion site. Scale bar = 100  μm. c, d Quantification of MBP and NF200 intensity. Note that quercetin treatment attenuated the reduction of MBP and NF200 in the white matter after injury. e–h Electron microscopic images and quantification of the mean axonal numbers, mean g-ratios, and mean axonal diameters in spinal cord white matter at 21 dpi. Arrows indicate degenerated myelin exhibiting onion-like appearance whose myelin lamellae were disorganized and loosened. Note that the increased number of axonal numbers, mean g-ratios, and decreased mean axonal diameters in quercetin treated rats. Scale bar = 2 μm. All data are expressed as mean ± SEM. Differences among groups were determined with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc test (c, d, f, h). N = 6 in each group, *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01