A total of four female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (weighing 280±10 g) at day 17 of gestation from the Genetic Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (Beijing, China; certificate of conformity, SCXK 2011-0004) were used for all experiments. All procedures in the animal experiments followed the instructions for the care and use of animals provided by the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (Beijing, China). All procedures in the present study were carried out in accordance with institutional guidelines and approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; all surgeries were performed under anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering. Ginsenoside-Rg1 (purity >99%, purchased from the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Beijing, China) was used as a stock solution for subsequent dilutions.
Antibodies: anti-nestin (cat. no. ab11306; Abcam, Cambridge, CB, UK), anti-BrdU (cat. no. ab8152; Abcam), anti-vimentin (cat. no. ab8978; Abcam), anti-Cy3-conjugated Affinipure goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin (Ig) G (cat. no. SA00009-2; ProteinTech, Wuhan, Hubei, P.R.C), fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Affinipure goat anti-mouse IgG (cat. no. SA00003-1; ProteinTech).
Antibodies: anti-nestin (cat. no. ab11306; Abcam, Cambridge, CB, UK), anti-BrdU (cat. no. ab8152; Abcam), anti-vimentin (cat. no. ab8978; Abcam), anti-Cy3-conjugated Affinipure goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin (Ig) G (cat. no. SA00009-2; ProteinTech, Wuhan, Hubei, P.R.C), fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Affinipure goat anti-mouse IgG (cat. no. SA00003-1; ProteinTech).