Fig. 1

Effect of homocysteine on cerebral infarct volume and neural cell morphological structure in the rats at 72 h post-MCAO. a Representative photographs of TTC-stained brain coronal sections showing the increase in infarct (white) by Hcy treatment. b Bar graph showing the infarct volume expressed as the percentage of the whole brain volume. Treatment with Hcy greatly increased the infarct volume compared with the MCAO group. The data are expressed as the means ± SD (n = 3 each group). ^a p < 0.05 vs. the SHAM group, ^b p < 0.05 vs. the MCAO group. c, d Cell histopathological changes in the cerebral cortical and DG region of the hippocampus by HE staining. Bar = 50 μm. e, f Representative microphotographs by fluorescent microscopy show Fluoro Jade B+ (green)-labeled neurodegeneration in the brain cortex and hippocampus. Quantitative analysis of Fluoro-Jade B+ positive cells in the brain cortex (g) and hippocampus (h) was shown. Data are presented as the mean ± SD for 6 animals in each group (8–10 histological sections per brain). Bar = 50 μm. DAPI (blue) a nuclear marker