Fig. 5

Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice display loss of spinal motor neurons and gliosis. a Representative images show CHAT staining in the lumbar spinal cord of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age. Scale bar: 500 μm. b Unbiased stereological estimation of the number of CHAT-positive SMNs and Nissl-stained SMNs in the lumbar spinal cord of 9 and 18-month-old Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice (n = 6 per genotype per time point). Data were presented as mean ± SEM. Two-way ANOVA plus Bonferroni’s post hoc test was used for statistical analysis. At 18 months of age, ^***p < 0.001 for difference between Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre. There were significant main effects for age (CHAT staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 25.51, p < 0.0001; Nissl staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 25.18, p < 0.0001), genotype (CHAT staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 22.46, p = 0.0001; Nissl staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 21.85, p = 0.0001) and age-genotype interaction (CHAT staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 17.08, p = 0.0005; Nissl staining: F_{(1, 20)} = 18.47, p = 0.0004). c Representative images show CTIP2 staining in the motor cortex of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age. Scale bar: 500 μm. d Unbiased stereological estimation of the number of CTIP2-positive and Nissl-stained large pyramidal neurons in the layer V motor cortex of 18-month-old Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice (n = 6 per genotype per time point). Data were presented as mean ± SEM. Unpaired t-test showed no statistical significance (p > 0.05). e Representative images show GFAP and IBA1 staining in the ventral horn of lumbar spinal cord of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age. Scale bar: 500 μm. f The areas occupied by GFAP-positive astrocytes and IBA1-positive microglia in the ventral horn of lumbar spinal cord of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age (n = 6 animals and 10 sections per animal). Data were presented as mean ± SEM; ^****p < 0.0001. Unpaired t-test was used for statistical analysis