Fig. 3

Reduced number of DCX⁺ immature neurons in hippocampus of BCAS2 cKO mice. A Left: representative images of DCX expression in hippocampal dentate gyrus. The 40-μm vibratome sections of 8-week-old WT and BCAS2 cKO mice underwent IFA staining for DCX. Scale bar: 50 μm. Right: quantification of DCX⁺ cells. B The definition of early, intermediate, and late phase of DCX⁺. DCX⁺ cells distinguished at different stages based on their morphology. Early-stage neuroblasts have cell bodies laying on the SGZ horizontally without dendritic processes. Intermediate-stage newborn neurons have cell bodies vertical and migrate to the granular cell layer (GCL), while exhibiting one or more processes confined to the GCL. Late-stage immature neurons also locate cell bodies at the GCL, but their dendrites have already extended into the molecular layer. Ba Quantification of different stages of DCX⁺ cells in dentate gyrus and Bb ratio of intermediate to early stage and late to intermediate stage. Data are mean ± SEM by Student’s t test. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01