Hydrogen Gas Attenuates Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury via Regulation of the MAPK/HO-1/PGC-1a Pathway in Neonatal Rats

Figure 2

H₂ reduced the area of infarction, neuronal loss, and glial activation in HIBI rats. (a) Representative results of TTC staining of each group. (b) Double-immunofluorescence staining (NeuN, green, expressed by neurons; GFAP, red, expressed by activated astrocytes) of each group (scale bar: 1000 μm and 200 μm). (c) Percentage of cerebral infarct volume in the ipsilateral hemisphere of different groups. Percentage of cerebral infarct volume was calculated as follows: . Compared with the HIBI group, the percentage of cerebral infarct volume was significantly reduced in the H₂ intervention groups (; ; ). (d, e) Bar graphs comparing relative NeuN immunoreactivity (NeuN+ cells) of each group/sham surgery group and the number of GFAP-immunoreactive cells (/mm²), respectively, in different groups (; ; ).