Figure 3.

Protective effect of NR3A transgene overexpression. A, NR3A TG neurons manifest decreased cell death after exposure to NMDA. Cortical neurons were cultured from mixtures of WT and NR3A TG newborn pups. Neurons expressing the NR3A transgene were identified by coexpression of EGFP. After mild NMDA exposure, apoptotic cell death was assessed by TUNEL staining. The degree of apoptosis for TG neurons was significantly less than that of WT neurons within the same culture (n = 5 for each genotype; *p < 0.05). B, NR3A TG mice (n = 7) manifested a decrease in infarct size in the adult tMCAOr stroke model compared with WT mice (n = 4). The images below the graph show representative brain sections with infarcts. C, NR3A TG mice (n = 6) exhibited an improvement in neurological behavior (lower disability score) after tMCAOr stroke compared with WT mice (n = 6; *p < 0.05). Error bars indicate SEM.