Impact of dnSGK1 overexpression on spine density in the medial PFC.

<p>rAAV-dnSGK1was infused into the medial PFC of rats, and 3 wk later, tissue was collected for analysis of spine density. (A) Low-power image of EGFP labeled layer II/III pyramidal neurons. Scale bar = 500 μm. (B) High-power image of representative dendrite segments taken from rAAV-control or rAAV-dnSGK1 showing altered spine number. Scale bar = 4 μm. (C) Spine density analysis of layer II/III pyramidal dendrite segments sampled from rAAV-dnSGK1 injected mPFC (mostly prelimbic cortex) (animals, <i>n</i> = 5; branches, <i>n</i> = 10, total dendritic length = 347.81 μm) or rAAV-EGFP (animals, <i>n</i> = 7; branches, <i>n</i> = 14, total dendritic length = 404.46 μm). Data are shown as mean ± SEM compared to the rAAV-EGFP control group (t(22) = 1.777, Student’s <i>t</i> test, *<i>p</i> < 0.05). For underlying data, see <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002282#pbio.1002282.s001" target="_blank">S1 Data</a>.