Fig. 6.
Effect of topical diclofenac application to the ipsilateral paw on the pERK1/2 in the spinal cord (SC)–paragigantocellularis (PGi)–locus coeruleus (LC)–prefrontal cortex (PFC) pathway. (A) Graphs depict the changes in the pERK1/2 expression in response to chronic monoarthritis (MA). Diclofenac administration significantly reduced pERK1/2 levels on the ipsilateral side of the SC and it reversed the increase in pERK1/2 observed in the PGi, LC, and PFC. (B) Images of the blots showing pERK1/2 (44–42 kDa), tERK1/2 (44–42 kDa), and tubulin (50 kDa) expression for each structure from each experimental group. Values are expressed as the mean ± SEM: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001, control versus MA; #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001, MA + vaseline versus MA + diclofenac; two-way ANOVA followed by Student–Neuman–Keuls post hoc test. Each column represents the mean pERK1/2 levels of three assays performed on samples from independent groups of 2–4 animals. These levels were normalized to the corresponding total ERK1/2 values, as no significant changes in tubulin levels were observed. C = contralateral; Cont = control; DIC = diclofenac; I = ipsilateral; pERK1/2/tERK1/2 = phosphorylated/total extracellular signal–regulated kinases 1 and 2, respectively; VAS = vaseline.