Fig. 1. Intranasal administration of ER272 promotes neurogenesis in the SVZ and the DG.

Intranasal ER272 (1 µM) or only vehicle was administered during 7 days to healthy 2-month-old adult mice. A Scheme of BrdU administration. All mice were intraperitoneally-injected with BrdU (100 mg/kg) during 7 days every 2 days as described in methods. B Representative confocal microcopy images of the SVZ of adult mice treated with ER272 or only vehicle. Scale bar = 50 µm. The dotted lines indicate lateral ventricle limits (LV). Slices were processed for the immunohistochemical detection the proliferation marker BrdU and the neuroblast marker doublecortin (DCX). C Representative confocal microcopy images of the DG of the hippocampus of adult mice treated with ER272 or only vehicle. Scale bar = 50 µm. The dotted lines indicate the DG limits. Slides were processed for the immunohistochemical detection the proliferation marker BrdU and the neuroblast marker doublecortin (DCX). D Graph shows the number of proliferating cells marked with BrdU per mm³ in the SVZ of the indicated animal groups. Data are the means ± S.E.M of six animals n = 6. Statistical analysis: **p = 0.0033 in two tailed unpaired Student’s t test comparing ER272 treatment with the control group (treated only with vehicle). E Graph shows the number of BrdU⁺ cells that co-express the neuroblast marker DCX (doublecortin) in the SVZ per mm³. Data are the means ± S.E.M of six animals n = 6. Statistical analysis: *p = 0.0084 in two tailed unpaired Student’s t test comparing ER272 treatment with the control group (treated only with vehicle). F Graph shows the number of proliferating cells marked with BrdU per mm³ in the DG of the hippocampus of the indicated animal groups. Data are the means ± S.E.M of six animals n = 6. Statistical analysis: ***p = 0.0006 in two tailed unpaired Student’s t test comparing ER272 treatment with the control group (treated only with vehicle). G Graph shows the number of BrdU⁺ cells that co-express the neuroblast marker DCX (doublecortin) in the DG of the hippocampus per mm³. Data are the means ± S.E.M of six animals n = 6. Statistical analysis: *p = 0.0139 in two tailed unpaired Student’s t test comparing ER272 treatment with the control group (treated only with vehicle).