Figure 6.

In vivo pluripotency factor expression enhances neural survival and synaptic plasticity. Gene expression of markers of neural survival and synaptic plasticity was evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. (a) Expression of striatal NeuN significantly increased in mice treated with DOX-H compared to the phosphate buffered saline (PBS) control group (n = 4/group; *P < 0.05). (b,c) Similarly, expression of synaptic markers such as synaptophysin and PSD 95 significantly increased in the striatum in the DOX-H group compared to the DOX-L and PBS groups (n = 4/group; **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001). (d,e) The number of NeuN⁺ cells (/mm³) and the fraction of area that was NeuN⁺ in the striatum (%) were significantly higher in mice treated with DOX-H (n = 5/group; *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001). (f–h) Representative microscopic images of NeuN⁺ cells in the striatum. Scale bar = 100 μm. In panels a–e, bars, mean + SEM.