Table 1.

Experimental design, animal number and analyses performed per time-point (tp) within each experimental group.

	Subacute MPTP						Subchronic MPTP
Days after MPTP discontinuation
Analyses	mice/tp	-7	0	+1	+3	+7	0	+1	+3	+7	+21	+30	+40
Rotarod	10	+	+	+	+	+
Neurochem.	5		+			+		+		+	+	+	+
Immunohistochem.	5						+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Microglia markers	5						+	+	+	+
Gene expression	4						+	+		+	+	+	+
Western blot	4						+	+	+	+	+		+

Young (3-5 month-old) and ageing (9-11 month-old) C57Bl/6 mice fed with a control, flurbiprofen or HCT1026 diets (30 mg kg^-1) starting at -10 d, underwent an MPTP treatment according to the subacute (n = 4 intraperitoneal, i.p., injections of MPTP-HCl, 15 mg kg^-1 free base, 2 hours apart in one day) or subchronic (n = 5 intraperitoneal, i.p., injections of MPTP-HCl, at 5, 15 or 30 mg kg^-1 free base, every 24 h), injection paradigms. Age-matched mice fed with the different diets received physiologic saline (NaCl, 10 ml kg^-1) and served as controls. Mice number and timepoints (tp) for each experimental protocol for each set of analyses/tp, are indicated. Striatum and ventral midbrains tissues were processed for RT-PCR or western blotting, as reported according to the different determinations. For immunohistochemical analyses, on the day of sacrifice mice were anesthetized and transcardially perfused, the brains processed as indicated. See Methods section for details.