Figure 5.

Progestin regulation of neurogenic and neuroprotective activity in the hippocampus of OVX adult female rat. P₄, Nestorone, LNG, and MPA were selected for in vivo efficacy assessment for their regulation of neurogenic activity; 30 μg/kg BW progestins were injected to 3-month-old OVX female rat followed by BrdU injection 1 h later. A, Effect of tested progestins on cell proliferation marker PCNA and CDK1 protein level in the hippocampus. B, Progestin regulation of BrdU+ cell count in the hippocampus of OVX adult female rat. *, P < 0.05 and **, P < 0.01 compared with vehicle control. C, left, Effects of progestins on CVα expression in rat hippocampus at protein level. Right, Effects of progestins on Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio at protein level. P < 0.05 and P = 0.08, respectively.