Neurons induced by <i>NBF</i> and <i>NBFL</i> show increased dendrite complexity.

(A, B) Representative images of injection sites at 12 dpi. Magnifications and 3D reconstructions (C–E) of NB, NBF, and NBFL iNs, respectively. (F) Schematic representation of the analyzed morphological parameters. Blue dots represent primary dendrites, defined as filaments originating from the soma; green dots the branching points and numbers indicate the order of each terminal dendrite, defined as the number of branching points the dendrite undergoes from its somatic origin to the terminal tip. Average values (histogram bars) and data distribution (dot plot) of number of primary dendrites, branching points and total dendritic length for NB (gray), NBF (light blue), and NBFL (red) iNs, respectively. While NBF iNs only show an increase in primary dendrites compared to NB iNs, the addition of Lmo4 (NBFL) induces a stronger effect, reflected by an increased number of primary dendrites, branching points, and increased overall dendritic length. (G) Histogram representing the dendrite order distribution in NB, NBF, and NBFL iNs. Compared to NB neurons, NBF iNs show a significant increase in order 0 dendrites only, and a positive tendency in other categories (1–7). However, the addition of Lmo4 (NBFL) leads to an increased number of 0–3 order dendrites and a positive tendency in higher ranks (4–7) dendrites. (H) Sholl analysis of NB (gray), NBF (light blue), and NBFL (red) iNs points to increased overall complexity of dendrite arborization in NBFL compared to both NB and NBF. In the inset, a schematic representation of the analysis. Gray hashtags indicate statistical differences between NB-NBF and NB-NBFL and light blue hashtags between NBF-NBFL. Data are represented as mean ± SEM. N = 3 animals per condition. (F, G) Analyzed cells: NB, n = 283; NBF, n = 89; NBFL, n = 75. *, p p p S6 Data. GFP, green fluorescent protein.