Fig. 4

Effects of DMF on antioxidant system in NTG-induced migraine. The expression of Nrf-2, Mn-SOD, and HO-1was observed by Western blot analysis in whole brain with the rostral cervical spinal cord samples of mice, 4 h after NTG-injections. Respectively, nuclear Nrf-2 expression increased following NTG-injection as compared to sham and sumatriptan groups (A), while DMF administration, at 30 and 100 mg/kg, upregulated Nrf-2 activity (A); F value = 438.9. The same result was obtained for Mn-SOD expression (B); F value = 11.69. The levels of HO-1 were notably increased following NTG-damage compared to control groups (C), while DMF treatment, at 30 and 100 mg/kg, significantly up-regulated Mn-SOD and HO-1 expression (B and C); F value = 7.79. Data are means ± SEM of ten mice for each group. A representative blot of lysates obtained from each group is shown and densitometry analysis of all animals is reported (n = 10 mice from each group). One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-test. ##p < 0.01 and ###p < 0.01 vs. NTG; °p < 0.05, °°p < 0.01 and °°°p < 0.001 vs. Sham