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

Figure 5

Quantification of hyperphosphorylated Tau accumulation in the hippocampus. Hyperphosphorylated Tau cell densities in the PoDG of the hippocampus from normal controls, blast-exposed rats, and blast-exposed rats subsequently treated with the antioxidants HPN-07 and NAC were calculated and statistically analyzed. Significant accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Tau was observed in the PoDG of the hippocampus seven days after blast exposure compared to uninjured controls (). Significantly lower AT8-positive cell densities were observed in the PoDG of the hippocampus in blast-exposed animals subsequently treated with antioxidants () at this time point. No significant differences between experimental cohorts were observed at other time points (24H or 21D, all ). However, the number of AT8-positive cells exhibited a significant decline between the seven- and twenty-one-day time points in blast-exposed rats (7D-B versus 21D-B, ), while a similar time-dependent decline was not evident in blast-exposed rats subsequently treated with the antioxidants HPN-07 and NAC (7D-B/T versus 21D-B/T, ). and . Error bars represent standard error of the means.