Figure 2

pp38 immunohistochemistry in LDRG of db+ and db/db mice. A, B: Representative pictures of pp38 immunohistochemistry in DRG from db+ (A) and db/db (B) mice at 8 wk of age. Increased nuclear immunoreactivity was detected in db/db (arrow) but not db+ (arrowhead) LDRG neurons. Bar = 15 μm. C: Quantitation of pp38-positive LDRG neurons in db+ and db/db mice. Significantly increased numbers of pp38-positive LDRG neurons were detected in db/db mice in comparison with db+ mice. N = 6, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. At 8 wk of age, the maximum increase in the percentage of pp38-positive neurons was detected in comparison to 5 and 10 wk LDRG. *p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA test. D: Cell size distribution of pp38-positive LDRG neurons at 8 wk of age. Significant increase of pp38-positive LDRG neurons were detected in neurons <20 μm, 20-30 μm and 30-40 μm in diameter. Small numbers of large DRG neurons (<40 μm) were also positive for pp38 in db/db mice but not db+ mice. N = 4, *p < 0.05.