Fig. 11.

The AKG diet suppresses the pro-inflammatory response and rescues impaired DA synapses in A53T α-Syn mice. a and b AKG levels in the SN and serum were determined by ELISA. n = 3 for SN, n = 5–10 for serum. c Immunofluorescence staining and quantification of endpoint voxels, branch length, and volume of Iba1-positive cells in the SN of WT, AKG, A53T α-Syn, and A53T α-Syn + AKG groups. Scale bars, 40 μm. Magnified images are shown in the middle row, and skeletal diagrams of Iba1-positive cells are shown in the bottom row. Scale bars, 12 μm. n = 6–7. d and e Representative blots and quantification showing the expression of Synapsin, Syntaxin, Synaptotagmin, and PSD-95 in the SN and striatum. n = 3 per group. f The representative images and quantitative analysis of ultrastructural synaptic vesicles in the SN. n = 6 per group. Scale bars, 500 μm. g Immunofluorescence staining and quantification of VMAT2 within TH-positive cells in the SN of WT, AKG, A53T α-Syn, and A53T α-Syn + AKG groups. Scale bars, 40 μm. Magnified images are shown in the bottom row. Scale bars, 10 μm. n = 7–9. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM. ^**p < 0.01, ^*p < 0.05 vs. WT; ^##p < 0.01, ^#p < 0.05 vs. A53T α-Syn. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test for post hoc comparisons