Effect of α-MSH(11-13) on apoptosis.

(A) To determine the influence of α-MSH(11-13) on apoptosis, analysis of apoptotic cells was performed using immunofluorescent double-staining of cleaved caspase-3 (green) and neuronal nuclei (red). White arrows point to apoptotic cells. (B) In the quantitative analysis, α-MSH(11–13) administered group showed obvious less apoptotic cells compared to vehicle (each n = 9; one slice of vehicle was excluded due to damage; 26±10.34 vs. 54.78±19.42; p = 0.002). Data were analyzed using exact Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and adjusted for multiple comparisons using Bonferroni-Holm. As this is an explorative study p-values are given for descriptive reasons only. All bar charts show mean ± S.D.