Fig. 9

Effects of DRD2 and the PI3K pathway on the dendritic spine density and calcium concentration. A and B Representative traces, and quantitative analysis of the effects of quinpirole (1 μM) and LY294002(20 μM) on the NMDA (50 μM)-induced increase in Ca2 + in TNC neurons cultured in vitro. Neurons were pre-treated with quinpirole for 12 h and LY294002 for 1 h at 37℃ and 5% CO2. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc test; n = 20 cells/group; ***P < 0.001 vs. the Vehicle group; ###P < 0.001 vs. the NMDA group. C and D Representative photomicrographs of spine morphology in the TNC in CM rats are shown (scale bar = 5 mm); The dendritic spine density was sharply increased in the CM group compared with the Sham group; this increase was abolished by both the DRD2 agonist quinpirole and the PI3K inhibitor LY294002, and the therapeutic effect of quinpirole was reversed by the PI3K activator 740YP. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc test; n = 5/group; ***P < 0.001 vs. the Sham group; ###P < 0.001 vs. the CM group, &&&P < 0.001 vs CM + LY294002 group