FIGURE 4.

Exogenous NO is inhibitory for cell proliferation. A and B, Hippocampal cells were cultured under control conditions (NBA/B27/glutamine) or 50, 100, or 200 μm DETA/NONOate (NOC-18; NO donor) for 3 DIV before BrdU was added for the final 6 h. NOC-18 at 50 μm had no effect on basal proliferation rates, whereas 100 and 200 μm NOC-18 exerted a negative effect on basal proliferation rates, which statistically significantly reduced the mitotic index (A) and the number of nestin⁺ BrdU⁺ precursors to below control levels (B). Data represent mean ± S.E. based on a sample that represents at least 12 wells/condition from at least three different experiments. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett's multiple comparison test as compared with control condition was performed. *, p < 0.05.