Skip to main content
Figure 5 | Molecular Neurodegeneration

Figure 5

From: The Parkinsonian mimetic, 6-OHDA, impairs axonal transport in dopaminergic axons

Figure 5

6-OHDA induces microtubule disruption and retrograde degeneration in vitro. A) Integrity of microtubule tracks was assessed by measuring tubulin fragmentation in DA cultures treated with 6-OHDA at the indicated times and then fixed and stained with antibodies against AcTub and TH. Significant fragmentation of AcTub is not seen prior to 6 hours, but is readily apparent at 24 hours. B) TH positive axons with fragmented AcTub staining were quantified. One hundred to three hundred DA-GFP axons were counted per dish and 4–5 dishes were used per group. Scale bars indicate 10 μm. Bars represent mean ± SEM. ** indicates p < 0.001 versus control. C) The axonal side of cultures grown in microdevices were treated with 6-OHDA for 24 or 48 hours. Subsequently, the cell body compartment was treated with 1 μg/ml of propidium iodide (PI) and then imaged 30 minutes later to assess cellular degeneration. Note very little PI staining is seen in control (48 hours without 6-OHDA treatment) or 24 hour after 6-OHDA cultures. D) Quantification of cell death using propidium iodide. n = 4 devices per group. Scale bar indicates 40 μm. Data are represented as mean ± SEM, *indicates p < 0.05 versus control.

Back to article page