Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 11 pp 3445—3462
N-acetyl cysteine, inulin and the two as a combined therapy ameliorate cognitive decline in testosterone-deprived rats
Figure 6. The effects of NAC, inulin and combined therapy on hippocampal plasticity in rats with testosterone deprivation. (A) Representative images of dendritic spines under microscopy at CA1 of the hippocampus of NDS, NDO, NDOT, NDON, NDOI, and NDOC respectively (scale bar = 20 µm). (B) Mean dendritic spine density. (C) Upper pane: representative immunoblotting images of synaptophysin relative to actin expression. Lower panel: the expression of hippocampal synaptophysin protein relative to actin. (D) Upper panel: representative immunoblotting images of PSD95 relative to actin expression. Lower panel: the expression of hippocampal PSD95 protein relative to actin. NDS: rats with sham operation; NDO: rats with orchiectomy; NDOT: rats with orchiectomy receiving testosterone replacement; NDON: rats with orchiectomy receiving NAC treatment; NDOI: rats with orchiectomy receiving inulin treatment; NDOC: rats with orchiectomy receiving the combined therapy (the combination of NAC and inulin) (N=6 of each group). *p<0.05 in comparison with the NDS, †p<0.05 in comparison with the NDS.