Figure 1.

Evaluation of the NMDA injury model in vitro and in vivo. After NMDA injury in cultured cortical neurons, cytotoxicity was determined by the LDH assay (a) and the apoptotic rate was assessed by Hoechst staining (arrows: apoptotic neurons; Scale bar=50 μm; (b and c)) ROS production was measured by DCFH-DA fluorescent probes (Scale bar=50 μm; (d and e)) The data are represented as mean±S.E.M. from four experiments. *P<0.05 versus the sham group. Twenty-four hours after NMDA injection in the mouse cortex, lesion volume was measured by Nissl staining (Scale bar=500 μm, Upper; 50 μm, Lower; (f)) The lower panel in (f) is a higher power image of the boxed section in the upper panel, and it shows the loss of neurons and disrupted integrity of the cortex. Neurological deficits were measured by the neurological severity score (NSS; sham group, n=6; NMDA group, n=9; (h)) The serum NSE concentration was also measured ((i); the sham group, n=7; the NMDA group, n=9) 12 and 24 h after injury. Data are represented as mean±S.E.M. *P<0.05 versus the sham group