Figure 7. Neuroprotective effects of GDNF-transfected macrophages in PD mouse model.

BALB/c mice were i.c. injected with 6-OHDA. Forty eight hours later, animals were i.v. injected with GDNF-transfected or empty-transfected macrophages, or PBS, and 21 days later they were sacrificed, and mid-brain slides were stained for expression of TH, a marker for dopaminergic neurons. Whereas 6-OHDA treatment caused significant neuronal loss in SNpc (red arrow), administration of GDNF-transfected macrophages dramatically increased neuronal survival (blue arrow). Administration of empty-vector transfected macrophages did not affect the number of dopaminergic neurons in healthy mice, and shows mild effect on increased neuronal survival in PD mice (white arrow).