Fig. 4. Time course of serum high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) concentrations ( n = 8). The serum HMGB1 levels were significantly increased after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion compared with that of preischemia ( P < 0.05), whereas they were significantly decreased in the animals treated by ethyl pyruvate (EP) compared with that of control animals ( P < 0.05). Data are shown as mean ± SEM of eight rats in each group. * P < 0.05 versus control group.