Ameliorative Effects of Antioxidants on the Hippocampal Accumulation of Pathologic Tau in a Rat Model of Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury

Figure 3

Quantification of somatic Tau-1 immunostaining in the hippocampus. Number of cells with Tau-1-positive somatic staining in the PoDG of the hippocampus in normal control rats (NC), rats exposed to blast (B), or rats exposed to blast followed by antioxidant treatment (B/T) were quantified and statistically analyzed. While there were no significant differences in the localization pattern of Tau-1 in the hippocampus 24 hours after blast exposure (all ), a significantly increased number of Tau-1-positive somata were observed in the PoDG of the hippocampus at both seven and 21 days after blast compared to the normal controls (). Antioxidant treatment significantly reduced the somatic accumulation of Tau-1 in the PoDG of the hippocampus compared to untreated blast-exposed controls at these time points after exposure ( or < 0.001). and . Error bars represent standard error of the means.