Fig. 4

N-glycan expression significantly decreases in the dorsal laminae IV/V/VI layers following SNL. A ROI in the dorsal laminae IV/V/VI layers. B–I Hierarchical clustering heatmap, PLS-DA plot, volcano plot, and MALDI mass spectrometry images with intensity plots of ipsilateral (B–E) and contralateral (F–I) dorsal laminae IV/V/VI layers, comparing sham and SNL groups. The correlation of the top 25 N-glycans detected in three samples from sham (green) and SNL (red) groups is shown and presented in the hierarchical clustering heatmap (H: hexose, N: N-acetylglucosamine, and F: fucose). The PLS-DA plot of N-glycans of sham and SNL groups with 95% confidence region. In the volcano plot, the blue dots indicate N-glycans significantly decreased in the SNL group compared with the sham group (p < 0.05). Representative MALDI mass spectrometry images and intensity plots of N-glycans reveal significant differences between sham and SNL groups (unpaired t-test, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, error bar: SEM). J–M Volcano plots and MALDI mass spectrometry images with intensity plot of ipsilateral (Ipsi, orange) and contralateral (Contra, blue) dorsal laminae IV/V/VI layers of sham (J, K) and SNL (L, M) group. In the volcano plot, blue dots represent N-glycans significantly decreased on the ipsilateral side compared with the contralateral side, while red dots represent N-glycans significantly increased on the ipsilateral side compared with the contralateral side (p < 0.05). Representative MALDI mass spectrometry images and intensity plots of N-glycans highlight significant differences between the ipsi and contra sides within each group (paired t-test, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, error bar: SEM). Data are representative of n = 3 independent experiments. Scale bars = 1 mm