Rac1 knock-down affected Rich2-induced spine enlargement.
A, Western blots obtained from HEK cells transfected with control sh-RNA (sh-Unr-GFP) or sh-Rac1-GFP or sh-Cdc42-GFP and revealed with anti-Rac1 or anti-Cdc42 or anti-tubulin antibodies. Please note that sh-Rac1-GFP and sh-Cdc42-GFP decreased Rac1 and Cdc42 protein content by roughly 70% for both. B and C, hippocampal neurons were transfected with the indicated plasmids, in combination with YFP. The histograms represent quantification of spine head size and spine density (*, p < 0.05 when compared with control; $, p < 0.05 when compared with the indicated conditions, NS, not significantly different when compared with the indicated conditions). Dotted lines represents control levels of spine head size and spine density.