Fig. 4

SLCP treatment prevented abnormal dendritic arborization and loss of dendritic spines in the PFC and entorhinal cortex of 5xFAD mice. Six- and twelve-month-old 5xFAD and age-matched control mice were treated with SLCP (100 mg/kg) or vehicle for 2 months and then their brains were extracted and stained with Golgi-Cox stain over a 2-week period. Coronal sections (120 μm) were stained with 75% ammonium solution and 1% sodium thiosulphate. Cortical pyramidal neurons (layer II-III), along with dendritic spines from apical and basal branches (primary, secondary, and tertiary) were imaged using × 40 and × 100 objectives, respectively. a Representative images from layer II cortical pyramidal neurons processed with Golgi-Cox stain. Note that apical and basal branches are relatively less in vehicle-treated 5xFAD mice and that SLCP treatment prevented this loss. b, d Representative dendritic spine images from apical and basal branches. c, e Morphometric data revealed that the number of dendritic spines were significantly decreased in vehicle-treated 5xFAD mice in comparison to their WT counterparts, whereas SLCP treatment mitigated these losses. f Representative images of layer II pyramidal neurons from entorhinal cortex. Fewer apical and basal branches were observed less in the vehicle-treated 5xFAD mice, but SLCP treatments mitigated this loss. g, i Representative dendritic spine images from apical and basal branches. h, j Dendritic spine density was significantly decreased in 5xFAD mice in comparison to WT mice, but SLCP treatment prevented much of this loss. k Representative images of apical and basal dendrites. l Representative images of primary, secondary, and tertiary dendrites from apical branch. Scale bar = 100 μm and is applicable to all images. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 in comparison to WT + vehicle, 5xFAD + SLCP, and WT + SLCP