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Fig. 4 | Acta Neuropathologica Communications

Fig. 4

From: Environmental enrichment reverses Aβ pathology during pregnancy in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Fig. 4

Pregnancy and not lactation increases Aβ plaque pathology in different brain regions of 5xFAD female mice. a Schematic overview of the experimental setup. Twelve weeks old 5xFAD female mice were mated and sacrificed at the age of 5 months (postpartum day 20 (P20)) after the pregnancy and lactation period. One group of mice was separated from the litter directly after the delivery and analyzed 4 weeks later at P20. b Fluorescence microscopy of Aβ (red) and DAPI (blue). Shown are representative images of hippocampi from female 5xFAD mice either non-pregnant, pregnant but not lactating or pregnant and lactating at P20. c Quantification of Aβ plaque load exhibited significant increases in pregnant and lactating 5xFAD mice. Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparison test, *P = 0.03, *P = 0.03. d Fluorescence microscopy of Aβ (red) and DAPI (blue). Shown are representative images of the cortex from female 5xFAD mice either non pregnant, pregnant but not lactating or pregnant and lactating at P20. e Quantification of Aβ plaque load in the cortex exhibited significant increases in pregnant and lactating 5xFAD mice compared to nulliparous 5xFAD female mice. Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparison test, *p = 0.04, *p = 0.03. f Fluorescence microscopy of Aβ (red) and DAPI (blue). Shown are representative images of the olfactory bulb from female 5xFAD mice either non-pregnant, pregnant but not lactating or pregnant and lactating at P20. g Analysis of the number of compact Aβ plaques in the olfactory bulb exhibited significant increases in pregnant and lactating 5xFAD mice compared to nulliparous 5xFAD female mice. Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparison test, P = 0.056, *P = 0.02. Data are presented as mean ± S.D. Each symbol represents data from one mouse, with four to seven mice per group. Scale bar represents 500 μm. P = postpartum day

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