Figure 6.

Targeted neuronal expression of Trap1 rescues mitochondrial dysfunction in Pink1 mutants. (a) Decreased TH levels observed in the Pink1^B9 mutants can be partially restored by the expression of Trap1 in neurons. Fly-head protein lysates from 20-day-old flies were used for western blotting analysis with the indicated antibodies. (b) Neuronal expression of Trap1 is capable of diminishing the degree of thoracic indentations in the Pink1^B9 mutants. Thoracic indentations were counted up to 24 h after eclosion (n>300 for each genotype). The asterisks indicate the significance relative to Pink1^B9 (χ², two-sided, alpha<0.05). (c) Targeted neuronal expression of Trap1 improves the climbing performance of Pink1^B9 mutants. 10-day-old flies with the indicated genotypes were tested using a standard climbing assay (mean±S.D., n=120 flies per genotype). The statistical significance relative to Pink1^B9 is indicated by the asterisks (one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's multiple comparison test). (d) Expression of Trap1 specifically in neurons is sufficient to improve mitochondrial respiration in the Pink1^B9 mutants. Complex II-uncoupled respiration was measured by high-resolution respirometry. Data are shown as the means±S.D. (n=6 for each genotype). The statistical significance is indicated by the asterisks (one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's multiple comparison test relative to the Pink1^B9 mutant)