Metallothionein-I + II Reduces Oxidative Damage and Apoptosis after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Figure 7

Representative microphotographs of TUNEL-positive cells in the injury area after spinal cord contusion and sacrificed at 24 or 72 hours after damage. (a, c) Animals with spinal cord injury (SCI) plus saline solution (SS); (b, d) rats with SCI and treated with two doses of metallothionein (MT) starting at 2 and 8 h after the lesion; all animals were sacrificed at 24 h after SCI. (a, b) Animals with similar condition described above for SS and panels: SCI plus MT but sacrificed 72 hours after injury. Arrows showed TUNEL-positive cells (bright green), and orange cells showed TUNEL and propidium iodide which means that they die by necrosis (white arrow). Scale bar 20 μm. (e, f) Number of TUNEL-positive cells per mm³ measured at 24 or 72 h, respectively, after damage. The results are shown as average of 3–6 animals per group. Mann-Whitney’s test, .