Fig. 6

Jagged1/Notch signaling knockdown reduced SCI-induced neuroinflammation and promoted neuronal preservation. a Representative western blots of Notch1 signaling pathway-associated proteins at 6 days after Jagged1 siRNA injection (3 days after SCI) and in the uninjured spinal cords. The quantification of the relative expression levels of NICD (b), Jagged1 (c), and RBP-JK (d) normalized to the level of GAPDH (n = 4; the data are expressed as the mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05 versus the sham group; ^#P < 0.05 versus the SCI+Jagged1 siRNA-injected group). Jagged1 siRNA injection decreased the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β (e), IL-6 (f), and TNF-α (g) in the spinal cord tissue at 3 days post-SCI (n = 4; the data are expressed as the mean ± SD; *P < 0.05 versus the sham group; ^#P < 0.05 versus the SCI+Jagged1 siRNA-injected group). h Representative images of activated caspase-3/NeuN staining neurons in various groups. i The relative number of intact neurons showing strong NeuN staining at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after SCI (n = 4; the data are expressed as the mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05 versus the SCI+scramble siRNA-injected mice and the SCI control group, ^#P < 0.05 versus the other groups). j The proportion of NeuN-positive neurons that were also positive for activated caspase-3 (n = 4; *P < 0.05 versus the other groups)