Figure 6

Granule cells of adult Rbfox3^−/− mice exhibit increased spine density and dendritic complexity.

Dendritic spines were counted in granule cells of Golgi stained tissue from the hippocampal DG. (a) Schematic of hippocampal slices for granule cell analysis at P49. (b) Representative image of distal dendritic spines (top) and spine density (bottom). WT, n = 85 segments, 20 cells, 3 mice; KO, n = 120 segments, 29 cells, 3 mice. Mann-Whitney rank sum test, ***P < 0.001. (c) Representative image of proximal dendritic spines (top) and spine density (bottom). WT, n = 87 segments, 27 cells, 3 mice; KO, n = 93 segments, 28 cells, 3 mice. Student’s t-test, two-tailed, ***P < 0.001. All data are presented as mean ± s.e.m. Scale bar represents 3 μm. (d) Representative images of reconstructed DG granule cells from WT and KO mice. Scale bar represents 50 μm. (e) Sholl analysis-derived distribution of granule cells mean number and length of intersections of dendritic branches with consecutive 20 μm-spaced concentric spheres. WT, n = 37 cells, 5 mice; KO, n = 37 cells, 5 mice. Student’s t-test, two tailed, *P < 0.05. (f) Quantification of parameters of dendritic morphology. WT, n = 37 cells, 5 mice; KO, n = 37 cells, 5 mice. Student’s t-test, two-tailed, *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. Dendritic segment length was analyzed under different branch order without (g) and with (h) terminal ends. WT, n = 37 cells, 5 mice; KO, n = 37 cells, 5 mice. Student’s t-test, two-tailed, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. All data are presented as mean ± s.e.m.