Fig. 2

Changes in immune organ indices and physicochemical factors related to the SAM and HPA axes after SCI. A Compared with sham surgery and T10-SCI, T3-SCI resulted in significant shrinkage of the (top) thymus and (bottom) spleen after day 7. Scale bar, 5 mm. B Changes in immune organ indices after SCI. All data are presented as the mean and standard deviation (SD); n = 3. The left side shows the thymus index (compared with the sham group: 3 dpi: T3-SCI, p = 0.026; T10-SCI, p = 0.016; 7 dpi: T3-SCI, p = 0.0005). The right side shows the spleen index (compared to the sham group: 3 dpi: T3-SCI, p = 0.036; 7 dpi: T3-SCI, p = 0.0017). C Representative image of HE staining of the spleen after SCI. Scale bar = 500 µm. D Changes in SBP (mmHg) at the third time point after SCI were measured. E–G Changes in the levels of the catecholamines norepinephrine (NE), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (GC); n = 10. All data are presented as the mean and the standard deviation (SD) and were analysed using one-way and two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001