Figure 7
q-RT-PCR analyses of hippocampal cytokine and BDNF levels in RC- and HFD-fed mice with or without NIR. The two pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α (A) and IL-1β (B), were upregulated after HFD, compared to control mice (the increase in IL-1β was not significant). NIR reduced TNF-α and IL-1β levels. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (C) showed the same increasing trend as TNF-α and IL-1β. n = 4–5 animals/group; 2 replicates/animal; 2 technical replicates. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical analyses: one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. (D) Hippocampal BDNF was downregulated in HFD SHAM versus RC mice, but the decrease was not significant. NIR induced BDNF significant upregulation in HFD-fed mice, compared to untreated animals. Graphs were created with GraphPad Prism 8.4.3 and 9.3.1 software (https://www.graphpad.com/). Images and graphs were composed in Adobe Photoshop 22.2.0 (https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopfamily.html).
