Fig. 13

SPION-mediated magnetic actuation upregulates transcription factor expression and activates signaling pathways associated with Schwann cell repair phenotypes. The expression levels of biomarkers of the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway (p-MEK and p-ERK1/2), Rac-MKK7-JNK pathway (MKK7 and JNK) and mTORC1 pathway (mTORC1) in different experimental groups were detected by WB at 3 (a), 7 (b), 14 (c) and 21 days (d) after sciatic nerve crush injury to evaluate the effect of different treatments on repair phenotype-related signaling pathways in Schwann cells. The relative mRNA expression levels of transcription factors (c-Jun and STAT3) in different experimental groups were measured by qRT-PCR at 3 (e), 7 (f), 14 (g) and 21 days (h) after sciatic nerve crush injury to evaluate the effect of different treatments on repair phenotype-related transcription factors in Schwann cells. The relative mRNA expression was calculated by using the 2-ΔΔCT method. Each experiment was carried out in triplicate. The values are represented as the mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01