Figure 4. Effects of chronic vmPFC HFS on the mRNA gene expression related to neuroplasticity in the hippocampus (A).
Note: vmPFC HFS upregulated genes involved in proliferation and neurogenesis-related functions including the NeuN, Syn, Dcx, Nes, Angpt2, and S100a4 relative to sham. No changes were found for Timp1, Ccl2, and BDNF. Calculation for the fold-change values indicating that vmPFC HFS induced approximately 4.8-fold (Angpt2), 2-fold (NeuN), and >1-fold (Syn, Dcx, Nes, S100a4) increase of gene expression relative to the sham (B). Interestingly, scatter plots show significant correlation between the Syn and the Nes/Dcx (C, D), indicating that these genes are strongly related to each other for neuroplasticity in the hippocampus after chronic vmPFC HFS. Gene expression was expressed as the change in Ct of the gene of interest compared to the sham (Delta Ct); and relative expression was calculated using the comparative CT method with fold change 2-Delta (Delta Ct). Indication: *, significant difference from the sham rats, (p < 0.05).