The Conflicting Role of Caffeine Supplementation on Hyperoxia-Induced Injury on the Cerebellar Granular Cell Neurogenesis of Newborn Rats

Figure 4

Representative cerebellar paraffin sections colabeled with Pax6, PCNA, and DAPI of rat pups exposed to normoxia (NO) or hyperoxia (HY) compared to rat pups treated with caffeine (NOC, HYC). Examinations were performed at postnatal day 3 (P3 (a)) and P5 (c) or after recovery after 3-day exposure at P15 (b) or after 5-day exposure at P15 (d). Immunofluorescent images indicated Pax6 (red), PCNA (green), and nuclei (blue, DAPI). Three -(P3) and five-day (P5) lasting hyperoxia affected the density of granule cells (Pax6), proliferation capacity (PCNA), and thickness of EGL in the newborn rat cerebellum after acute hyperoxia exposure (P3, P5). Caffeine at P3 was partly effective to inhibit the effects of hyperoxia. EGL: external granular layer; ML: molecular layer; IGL: internal granular layer. Scale bar P3/P5 25 μm and P3_P15/P5_P15 50 μm.