Figure 6.

Gp120 impairs neurite outgrowth through a Tak1-dependent mechanism. Primary rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were treated with gp120 to determine whether gp120 altered neuronal morphology via the ability to grow or maintain neurite extensions. Representative photomicrographs illustrate DRG neurons that were untreated (a), treated with 2 nM gp120 (b), 2 nM gp120 plus 15 nM (5 Z)-7-oxozeaenol (c), or 2 nM heat-inactivated gp120 (d). Scale bars indicate 100 µm. The average percentage of DRG neurons exhibiting neurite extensions (e); calculated from separating the DRG neurons into two categories, one included counts of DRG neurons that displayed neurites and the other included counts of DRG neurons that lacked neurites. The average neurite outgrowth length per DRG neuron was determined by measuring all neurites within the sample and dividing by the number of DRG neurons that displayed neurites (f), results given in micrometers. All results averaged from three independent experiments that examined 3,154 neurons in total, including 2,374 neurons exhibiting neurites and 780 neuronal cell bodies without neurites. *p < .05 compared with untreated control, gp120 + (5 Z)-7-oxozeaenol, and heat-inactivated gp120 groups.