Fig. 2.

Expression of Mmp7 mRNA in developing mouse brain following maternal exposure to PGE₂. (A) The expression of Mmp7 increased at E16 in all three litters (L1-L3) following PGE₂ exposure. There were individual differences between pups. (B) At E19, the expression of Mmp7 decreased in all three litters L4-L6. (C) There was continued decrease in expression of Mmp7 at P8 in pups of all three litters L7-L9. Horizontal lines represent the mean value within each litter. (D) In the control mouse brain, Mmp7 expression is highest at E16 (p < 0.0005), and decreases throughout development in E19 (p = 0.012) and P8 (p = 0.010). Following PGE₂ exposure, mean Mmp7 expression from all pups is greater at E16 but not statistically significant (p = 0.31), and decreases at E19 (p < 0.0005) and P8 (p = 0.0022), from the normal expression in controls. Each value was averaged from animals from three litters and three independent experiments.