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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 12;28(2):611–624. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01820-3

Figure 5. Sex differences in the longitudinal impact of PreP-S and PostP-S on BLA parvalbumin (PV) interneurons.

Figure 5.

(A) After stress exposure, immunohistochemistry and fluorescent microscopy were performed in the BLA at various post-stress time points. Specifically, the BLA was sampled before the stress paradigms (in naïve rats) and subsequently at 1, 10, or 45 days after stress termination. (B) A 4x image with DAPI staining showing BLA anatomical borders and the counting frame. Cell counts of PV+ neurons, perineuronal-net+ (PNN+, labelled by WFA) neurons, and their co-labelling were measured in a 550 x 690μm counting frame on 10x images (909 × 692μm). (C) PreP-S-induced changes were detected primarily in males, including delayed reductions of PV+ and PNN+ cell counts only at PD75 and chronically reduced PV+/PNN+ co-labeled cell counts at PD41 and PD75. In the female BLA, PreP-S resulted in immediate yet transient reductions of PNN+ and PV+/PNN+ co-labeled cells only at PD31 (i.e., one day after stress), suggesting potential recovery at later time points. (D) Representative 10x images from PreP-S:Males at PD75. (E) PostP-S did not impair BLA PV interneurons in either sex. (F) Representative images from PostP-S:Females at PD95. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Unpaired t-test with Welch correction was conducted at each post-stress time point. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, indicating stress-related changes.