Fig. 5

PBM suppressed the upregulation of Lcn2 and the activation of the JAK2-STAT3 pathway after SCI. A, B Upregulated (1379) and downregulated (168) genes in the sham group and the SCI group at 1 dpi. The heatmap indicates that Lcn2 was one of the highly upregulated genes. C The relative mRNA expression of Lcn2 is presented as the fold change in each group after SCI in comparison to the expression in the sham control group (n = 5 rats per group). Statistical comparisons were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc test. D Representative images of immunofluorescence staining for GFAP (green), Lcn2 (red) and DAPI (blue) taken from the lesion area 150 μm from the epicenter in the SCI + vehicle group and the SCI + PBM group at 1 dpi, 3 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi and 28 dpi. e. Representative blots showing the expression levels of JAK2, pJAK2, STAT3, pSTAT3 and Lcn2 in each group at 1 dpi, 3 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi and 28 dpi. Quantification of the relative expression of Lcn2, pJAK2/JAK2 and pSTAT3/STAT3 (n = 6 rats per group at each time point). Statistical comparisons were performed using two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc test. Scale bar: 200 μm. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01