Fig. 1

Cre-mediated ablation of Mfn2 expression in the hippocampus and cortex of Mfn2 cKO mice. a Cre-mediated recombination and excision of floxed Mfn2was analyzed by genomic DNA PCR. Cre-mediated ablation of Mfn2 was found in the hippocampus (Hip) and cerebral cortex (Cx) but not in cerebellum (Cb). Western blot (b, representative from animals of 8–12 weeks of age) and quantification analysis (c) of brain homogenates found the Mfn2 protein levels were reduced in Mfn2 cKO mice (N = 7) compared to control mice (N = 6) in both the hippocampus and the cortex. Actin was used as an internal loading control. Data are means ± SEM, student’s t-test, *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. d Mfn2 immunostaining of brain sections from 8-week-old control and Mfn2 cKO mice showed a loss of Mfn2 protein in both cortical (boxed area was enlarged in the upper-right corner) and CA1 hippocampal neurons but not CA2 hippocampal neurons (boxed areas were enlarged below)