Fig. 5
Urocortin 2 (Ucn2) mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). Panels A-C show representative confocal images in the PVN of 12-month-old rats that were normally fed (NF12), subjected to physical training (TR12) or caloric restriction (CR12). Red signal dots correspond to Ucn2 mRNA transcripts. The blue color represents nuclear counter staining with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). Due to the relatively low Ucn2 expression level, higher magnification images of the boxed areas in the bottom panels (A’-C’) illustrate the individual Ucn2 signal puncta more efficiently. Histogram D provides a quantitative comparison of Ucn2 expression in the PVN across experimental groups. * p < 0.05, compared to the NF12 group, according to Tukey’s post hoc test upon one-way analysis of variance (F2, 12=8.98, p = 0.004, n = 5/group). Cartoon E illustrates the neuroanatomical localization of the imaged areas shown in A-C. f: fornix, opt: optic tract. Bars: 50 μm in A-C, 10 μm in A’-C’.
