Fig. 2.

Specific [³H]nisoxetine binding to NET in hippocampal regions as a function of age and SERT genotype. Brain sections from P21, P28, and P90 SERT-deficient mice incubated with the NET-specific ligand [³H]nisoxetine. Nonspecific binding was defined by mazindol (2.5 mM). (A) Representative coronal sections at the level of plate 47 (Paxinos and Franklin, 1997) in SERT+/+, SERT+/−, and SERT−/− mice aged P21, P28, or P90. The boxed area in (A) is enlarged in (B), which shows representative thionine-stained brain sections labeled with hippocampal regions quantified, which include the CA1, CA2, and CA3 regions and the dentate gyrus (DG). (C) Example of saturation binding isotherms used to calculate B_max and K_d values. Curves include specific [³H]nisoxetine binding values for the CA3 of P21, P28, and P90 SERT+/+ mice. There was no main effect of sex on B_max or K_d values, so male and female data are pooled (P > 0.05). B_max values are summarized in Fig. 4. There were no significant differences in K_d among ages or between SERT+/+ and SERT+/− mice. Sample sizes of mice per group were as follows: SERT+/+, n = 5–9 (4 males and 3–5 females, pooled); SERT+/−, n = 6–10 (3–5 males and 2–4 females, pooled); and SERT−/−, n = 4–7 (2–4 males and 2–4 females, pooled). See Table 2 and Fig. 4 for a summary of data.