Fig. 2

Western blot analysis of the spinal cord proteins in glycolysis and mitochondria-related pathway in inflammatory pain. (A–H) The expression of GLUT3, PKM2, HIF-1α in the spinal cord following intrathecal injection of Dexa (20 µg/20 µL), 2-DG (5 mg/20 µL), Oligo (5 µg/20 µL), and the combinations Dexa 20 µg + 2-DG 5 mg/20 µL and Dexa 20 µg + Olig 5 µg/20 µL. Dexa significantly decreased GLUT3 and increased the PKM2 levels in FCA-treated mice, respectively, except HIF-1α. 2-DG reduced the expression of both GLUT3 and PKM2 (but not HIF-1α), whereas Oligo did not change their level during inflammatory pain. Data were normalized against β-actin and are expressed as ratios of control. Data are shown as mean ± SEM (n = 4–6). * P<0.05; ** P<0.01; and *** P<0.001; one-way ANOVA with Fisher-LSD tests. FCA, Freund’s complete adjuvant. GLUT3, glucose transporter isoform 3; PKM2, pyruvate kinase M2; HIF-1α, hypoxia inducible factor-1α