Immune Challenge Alters Reactivity of Hippocampal Noradrenergic System in Prenatally Stressed Aged Mice

Figure 3

(a) An experimental timeline indicating time windows for an exposure to prenatal stress (PS, at E14–E21) as well as the immune challenge by an injection of lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella Typhimurium (LPS, S. typh., 0.2 μg/g B.W., two consecutive days, at eight month of age). All mice were sacrificed at the age of one year to perform electrophysiological, morphological, and biochemical analyses of the brain tissue and blood serum of aging animals. (b) Curves showing body weight alterations prior to, during, and after saline and LPS injections for all groups. Note that PS mice were smaller than control ones, in general. All mice that were injected with an LPS showed body weight drop. All mice recovered and body weight values reached the level of saline-treated littermates. (c) A bar graph demonstrating elevation of corticosterone plasma levels following exposure to PS and LPS injections. (d) Dendritic spine analysis of Golgi-Cox-stained brain sections revealed no alterations in the spine density of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons between different treatment groups. All values are expressed as means ± SEMs ().

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