Figure 5. The effect of integrin α5 knockdown in striatal cells on dopaminergic neurite outgrowth to the striatal cell region.

(a) Preferential infection of striatal cells with lentiviral vectors. Lentiviral vectors were applied outside the isolation wall during 5 to 24 hours after cell plating. Mesencephalic cells were paired-cultured with striatal cells for 5 days. Representative photographs show the vicinity of the borderline between the cell regions. Left: phase-contrast image. Right: Venus fluorescence. Scale bar = 200 μm. (b) Selective knockdown of integrin α5 in striatal cells. Protein samples were separately collected from the mesencephalic and striatal cells of paired-cultures 6 days after infection with lentiviral vectors. (c) Distribution of dopaminergic growth cones from the borderline of the mesencephalic cell region. (d) The effect integrin α5 shRNA infection in striatal cells with on dopaminergic neurite outgrowth to the striatal cell region. After infection with lentiviral vectors, mesencephalic cells were paired-cultured with striatal cells for 10 days and then processed for TH immunostaining. TH-positive dopaminergic neurite lengths were summed. n.s.: not significant.