Research Article

Botanical Drug Puerarin Promotes Neuronal Survival and Neurite Outgrowth against MPTP/MPP+-Induced Toxicity via Progesterone Receptor Signaling

Figure 3

Immunofluorescence analysis of PR expression. (a) Detection of PR expression. The model of MPTP-induced parkinsonism was treated with puerarin (120 mg/kg/day), progesterone (8 mg/kg/day), or RU486 (3 mg/kg/day), as indicated. Midbrain cryosections were probed with primary anti-PR antibody and visualized with Alexa Fluor 594-conjugated secondary antibody, whereas the cell nuclei were stained with DAPI. The substantia nigra areas were examined under a Zeiss LSM 780 confocal microscopy. Representative images with 20x amplification were shown. Scale bar, 100 μm. (b) Quantitative analysis of PR levels. Fluorescence intensity of PR staining in the midbrain was quantified by a densitometric method and expressed in ().
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