Fig. 3

Expression of total iNOS proteins quantified by immunoblots in whole hippocampus homogenates of rats treated with hypoxia alone (black column) and melatonin pretreated (white column) and sacrificed at 0 h, 1 and 3 days of reoxygenation. The levels of total iNOS protein in the hippocamus are drastically increased in the rats sacrificed at 0 h, 1 and 3 days after hypoxic insult. In rats treated with hypoxia and pretreated melatonin, the increased protein levels are markedly reduced as compared with those of hypoxic along. The protein expression of saline or melatonin treatment under normoxic condition rats are designed as controls (set as 100 %, indicated by dashed line), which are normalize with the levels of β-actin as a loading control. *P < 0.05 (Student’s t test) when compared with values (expressed as mean ± SEM) of rats merely treated with hypoxia at the same survival time point