Figure 3

Effects of puerarin on the expressions of (A) hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and (B) inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cerebral homogenates 24 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-reperfusion injury in rats. Fresh brains from sham-operated (lane 1), solvent-treated (lane 2), and puerarin (50 mg/kg)-treated (lane 3) rats were removed and sectioned coronally into four sequential parts from the frontal lobe to the occipital lobe. The third part of the four sequential parts of the ischemic-injured hemisphere was separately collected, homogenized, and centrifuged. The supernatant (50 μg protein) was then subjected to SDS-PAGE, and transferred onto membranes for analysis of HIF-1α and iNOS expressions. The results are representative examples of three similar experiments. Data are presented as the means ± S.E.M. **P < 0.01 compared to the sham-operated group (lane 1); ^#P < 0.05 and ^##P < 0.01 compared to the solvent-treated group (lane 2). Equal loading in each lane is demonstrated by similar intensities of α-tubulin.