Figure 5From: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) cause degeneration of cytoskeleton and disrupt synaptic machinery of cultured cortical neuronsStatistical data showing the effect of AgNPs on the mean fluorescent intensity of cytoskeletal proteins and representative images showing the impact of AgNPs on glial β-tubulin and GFAP. To quantify the effect of AgNPs on the level of β-tubulin and F-actin, the fluorescent intensity of randomly selected 7-16 areas of 3844 μm2 under control and AgNP-treated conditions (as shown in Figure 4F-4J) were measured using imageJ software. The quantified data show that AgNPs significantly decreased the fluorescent intensity of both β-tubulin (A) and F-actin (B). To further investigate whether AgNPs affected glial cytoskeleton, cells were co-stained with β-tubulin (green) and GFAP (red), a specific marker for glial astrocytes. C shows the representative images of cells in the control and AgNPs at 10 μg/ml. Neurons under the control conditions exhibited healthy neuronal cell bodies (indicated by a solid arrow) and neurites (indicated by an open arrow), while neurons exposed to 10 μg/ml of AgNPs had degenerated cell bodies (indicated by a solid arrow) and neurites (indicated by an open arrow). Note that both of the β-tubulin and GFAP in glial cells (indicated by asterisks) were compromised by AgNPs. * P < 0.05. ** P < 0.01. *** P < 0.001. Error bars indicate SEM. Scale bar, 20 μm.Back to article page