MiR-451a^-/- mice show higher cell proliferation in adult neurogenic regions.

Proliferating cells were quantified in coronal brain sections of wild type and miR-451a-/- mice at postnatal days 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 by Ki67 immunostaining (A). Markedly higher numbers of Ki67+ cells were observed in miR-451a-/- animals, particularly at days 25 and 40 in the subgranular zone (SGZ, demarcated with dashed lines) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) and the subventricular zone (SVZ, demarcated with dashed lines) of lateral ventricles (LV). Representative microscopy images for day 25 and day 40 animals are shown in (B). Cell nuclei were counterstained with DAPI. Immunostaining and quantification were conducted on at least two coronal sections per animal with n≥4 animals per group per time point. The statistical significance of the observed differences was assessed with the Mann-Whitney U Test. The differences were statistically not significant. Circle: outliers, Star: extreme outliers. Scale bars: 50 μm.