Fig. 4

Effects of MC1R activation on brain atrophy and long-term neurological function at 28 days post-HI. a–c Representative pictures of Nissl staining the brain slices showing tissue loss in the ipsilateral hemisphere. The BMS-470539 treatment group significantly reduced the percentage of tissue loss and brain atrophy compared to the vehicle group. d, e Activation of MC1R with BMS-470539 significantly improved sensorimotor function as shown by foot-fault and rotarod tests. f–i The BMS-470539 treatment group significantly improved in spatial memory and learning abilities compared to the vehicle group, as demonstrated by less swim distance to find the platform (f), less escape latency (g), and more time spent in the target quadrant during the probe test (h, i). h Representative image of swim track in probe trial. Data was represented as mean ± SD. Statistical differences between groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA or two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey multiple-comparison post hoc analysis. *p < 0.05 versus sham; ^#p < 0.05 versus HI + vehicle; n = 8 per group