Figure 5.

SiO₂-NP exposure suppressed cell proliferation in the DG.

Notes: (A–D) Representative images of BrdU-labeled sections of the DG for each of the four groups: Vehicle, SiO₂-NPs (10 mg), SiO₂-NPs (20 mg), and SiO₂-NPs (50 mg). (E–H) The images are higher-power views of the boxed areas in A–D. (I) Quantitative analysis of the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the hippocampal DG. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n=5). ^*p<0.05, and ^***p<0.001. The scale bar in (D) =200 µm and applies to (A–D), and that in (H) =100 µm and applies to (E–H).

Abbreviations: SiO₂-NPs, silica nanoparticles; DG, dentate gyrus; BrdU, 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine; SEM, standard error of the mean; GCL, granule cell layer.