Fig. 3

Expression of cognitive impairment-related genes in PBMC of male Wistar rats of three (a), five (b), and six (c) months of age submitted to a control (NF), HF45 or HF60 diet for four months. Food in the HF groups was offered in isocaloric amounts to the control group. mRNA expression levels were measured by RT-qPCR. Data represent mean ± SD (n = 10) of ratios of specific mRNA levels normalized against Itg1β (used as a reference gene). Data of the control (NF) group were set to 100%, serving as a reference to the rest of the values. Statistics: *indicates that values from the HF groups are different from the control group (Student’s t test, p < 0.05); additionally, p values indicate statistical trends towards significance. Furthermore, a one-way ANOVA was performed followed by an LSD post hoc test; values not sharing a common letter (a, b) are significantly different (p < 0.05); no letters = no statistical difference