Figure 7.

Inhibiting ULK3 activity with SU6668 mitigated Bin1 knockdown-induced dendritic size reduction, hippocampal volume loss, and cognitive impairment. (A) Representative immunofluorescence images and the corresponding reconstructions visualizing the dendritic arbor of primary hippocampal neurons with indicated treatment. SU6668 treatment is 5 μM once a day for 6 days before fixation; bottom, bar graphs (mean + SEM) overlaid with dot plots (individual data points) showing the corresponding morphometric analysis of the dendritic arbor. Reconstruction is based on the anti-MAP2 signal; the green signal is from the co-expressed EGFP. The numbers of intersections are from the Sholl analysis of reconstructions. Scale bar: 50 μm. n = 15 per group. (B) Representative immunofluorescence images showing the intensity of ULK3 in the hippocampal CA1 subfield of different groups of mice; bottom left, a bar graph (mean + SEM) overlaid with dot plots (individual data points) showing the corresponding immunofluorescence intensity quantifications. Scale bar: 50 μm. n = 6 mice per group. (C) Heat maps showing representative trajectories of mice in the Barnes maze during the probe phase; bottom left, line graphs showing the latencies and mistakes made (primary errors) before reaching the escape tunnel during the acquisition training phase; bottom right, bar graphs (mean + SEM) overlaid with dot plots (individual data points) showing the latencies and primary errors before reaching the previous escape tunnel location during the probe phase. n = 18 mice per group. (D) Representative consecutive MRI image sections showing the morphology of hippocampal CA1 in four-and-a-half-month-old mice from different groups. Scale bar: 5 mm; top, a bar graph (mean + SEM) overlaid with dot plots (individual data points) showing volume change of hippocampal CA1. n = 6 mice per group.