Fig. 4: Knockdown of the PTN in the dmPFC promotes depression-related behaviors, reduces neuronal excitability, and leads to synaptic impairment. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Knockdown of the PTN in the dmPFC promotes depression-related behaviors, reduces neuronal excitability, and leads to synaptic impairment.

From: Astrocytic pleiotrophin deficiency in the prefrontal cortex contributes to stress-induced depressive-like responses in male mice

Fig. 4: Knockdown of the PTN in the dmPFC promotes depression-related behaviors, reduces neuronal excitability, and leads to synaptic impairment.The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

A Schematic of the experimental design (WT mice). B–D RT‒PCR (B, n = 6 mice per group), WB (C, n = 6 mice per group), and IHC (D, n = 6 replicates) analyses showing the knockdown efficiency of AAV-PTN-shRNA. E Analyses of behavioral tests, including the OFT, EPM, FST, TST, and SPT (n = 10 mice per group). F–H Traces of mEPSCs in CaMKIIα+ neurons from the indicated groups (F), and the statistical analysis of the amplitude (G) and frequency (H) between groups (n = 30 cells from 10 mice per group). I Traces of action potentials in CaMKIIα+ neurons from the indicated groups and the corresponding statistical analysis (n = 30 cells from 10 mice per group). J Traces of dendritic spines from CaMKIIα+ neurons and quantification of the density of dendritic spines (n = 30 cells from 10 mice per group). K Quantification of PSD95 expression (n = 6 mice per group). Diagrams of the mouse injection model and mouse brain in (A) were created in BioRender. chi, d. (2025) https://BioRender.com/x64m191. All data are presented as mean ± SEM. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. See Supplementary Data 5 for statistical details, including the statistical test used for data analysis and the exact P value. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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