Fig. 1: The effect of corticosterone on microtubule destabilization in the male ICR mice.

a The hippocampus of male ICR mice exposed to vehicle or corticosterone (10 mg/kg) was collected. Acetylated α-tubulin, tyrosinated α-tubulin, and α-tubulin were detected by western blot. ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 5. b Slide samples for immunohistochemistry (IHC) were immunostained with acetylated α-tubulin (green), tyrosinated α-tubulin (red), and DAPI (blue). Scale bars, 200 μm (magnification, ×200). ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 5. c The synaptic protein was extracted from the hippocampus of mice treated with vehicle or corticosterone (10 mg/kg). Synaptic protein expressions were normalized by loading control of synaptosome, PSD95. Total lysates of hippocampus were also shown in the right panel. ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 5. d Slide samples for IHC were immunostained with DAPI (blue) and TOMM20 (red). Scale bars, 200 μm (magnification, ×200). Correlation coefficient analysis using Pearson’s coefficient value between DAPI and TOMM20 was done. ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 5. e TUNEL assay was performed using slide samples of hippocampus from mice with vehicle or corticosterone (10 mg/kg). The intensity of green fluorescence indicates the amount of neuronal cell death. Scale bars, 200 μm (magnification, ×200). ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 5. f The mice exposed to vehicle or corticosterone (10 mg/kg) were subjected to Y-maze test to evaluate memory function. ^** indicates p < 0.01 vs. vehicle. n = 6. All blot and immunofluorescence images are representative. Quantative data are presented as a mean ± S.E.M.