Fig. 3

Human/mouse mismatches at positions 121 and 122 affect aSyn-mediated dopaminergic cell death in rat midbrain. Rats (4–10 per group) were injected unilaterally into the SN with vectors encoding h-aSyn A53T, h-aSyn Chimera, m-aSyn, or m-aSyn Chimera at two different titers (1.3E13 gc/ml or 3.5E14 gc/ml). Eight weeks after surgery, coronal midbrain sections of the high-dose group were stained for aSyn in order to visualize transgene expression (a-e). Adjacent specimens were stained for TH (f-j), VMAT2 (k-o), Hu (p-t) or cresyl violet (u-y). The first panel in each row shows a representative image of the contralateral uninjected side (a, f, k, p, u). Counts of TH⁺ nigral dopaminergic neurons are shown in z for the lower vector dose and in aa for the higher vector dose. Data are presented as the percentage of intact side cell numbers ± SEM. **p < 0.01; two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. Scale bar, 50 μm (panels a-y). See also Figure S1