Activation of the type 2 adrenal steroid receptor can rescue granule cells from death during development.

To determine whether activation of the type 2 adrenal steroid receptor affects granule cell death in the developing dentate gyrus, we treated rat pups with the type 2 receptor agonist RU28362 and examined degenerating cells using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and Nissl staining. RU28362 administration decreased the numbers of degenerating granule cells suggesting that type 2 receptor activation can rescue granule cells from degeneration.