Fig. 3. Quantification of bcl-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in nonischemic neocortex and hippocampus early (6 h) and late (24 h) after erythromycin (25 mg/kg intramuscularly, n = 4; n = 5) or vehicle (n = 4; n = 5), respectively. For easy comparison, bcl-2 mRNA levels are shown relative to hippocampal expression of vehicle-treated animals. Bcl-2 mRNA was increased 6 h but not 24 h after erythromycin treatment. *  P < 0.05  versus 24 h. **  P < 0.05  versus vehicle-treated control. Data are mean ± SD; analysis of variance and  post hoc Student-Newman-Keuls test.