Figure 5
Bexarotene treatment maintains dendrite complexity and prevents loss of neurites in primary neurons exposed to Aβ.
Mouse primary cortical neurons were infected with GFP expressing lentivirus at DIV0. DIV14 cells were pre-treated with 1 μM bexarotene or vehicle for 24 hours followed by 0.5 μM Aβ42 for 24 hours. (A) Digital reconstructed images of Aβ or Bexa followed by Aβ treated cells, respectively; (B) Number of Intersections. Statistics is by two-way repeated measures ANOVA with number of intersections as an independent variable, treatment group as a factor and distance from the soma as the repeated-measure factor. There is an interaction F(171,2280) = 6.23, p < 0.0001. Total neurite length (C), Number of Bifurcations (D) and Number of branches (E) were significantly increased in the neurons treated with bexarotene. Statistics for (C–E) is by one-way ANOVA. For each treatment group, images were taken from at least 4 wells and of more than 2 GFP+ neurons per well. (F) Primary neurons were treated for 6 or 24 hours with bexarotene and mRNA level for selected genes related to categories “neuron projections” and “Wnt signaling” were examined by qPCR. Values are mean ± SEM; Statistics is by t-test; n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 versus vehicle group.
