Figure 4
Effect of FRα-binding peptide on the expression of GluN2B expression, and extracellular matrix organization (a,b). Representative stitched confocal images of GluN2B distribution in the DG of aged wild-type mice treated with vehicle (a) or FRα-binding peptide (b). Higher magnifications (×40 oil immersion objective was used with additional zoom applied) of the molecular cell layer of (a,b) (yellow squares) are shown. The nuclear marker DAPI is shown in blue. (c) Histogram showing the percentage of area occupied by the GluN2B signal in the molecular layer of the DG. The effect of the absence (dark grey) or presence (light gray) of FRα is shown. Treatment with FRα-binding peptide induced a significant increase in GluN2B expression in the DG (t = 2.069, df = 10). (d,e) Representative stitched confocal images of Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA, in green), as a marker of perineuronal nets (PNN) in the DG of mice injected with vehicle or FRα-binding peptide. The nuclear marker DAPI is shown in blue. Higher magnifications of the granular cell layer of (d,e) (yellow squares) are shown. (f) Single-dose treatment with FRα-binding peptide resulted in statistically significant changes in PNN density in the DG (t = 2.771, df = 10) (mean ± SEM; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01; Student’s t-test). Scale bar, 100 µm (a,b,d,e) and 10 µm (higher magnifications).
