Fig. 6.

Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice show NMJ fragmentation. a Representative images show α-bungarotoxin (BTX, green), p150^Glued (red) and ac-TUBA (purple) staining in the gastrocnemius muscles of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age. Scale bar: 20 μm. b Bar graph shows the percentage of intact, partially fragmented, and fully fragmented NMJs in the gastrocnemius muscles of Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice at 18 months of age (n = 6 animals and 10 sections per animal). Data were presented as mean ± SEM; ^****p < 0.0001. Unpaired t-test was used for statistical analysis. c Photographs display posture of 18-month-old male Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice in the hindlimb clasping test. d Bar graph shows the hindlimb clasping severity score of 18-month-old male Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice (n = 10–11 per genotype). Data were presented as mean ± SEM; ^***p < 0.001. Unpaired t-test was used for statistical analysis. e Quantification of gastrocnemius muscle weight from 24-month-old male Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice (n = 10–11 per genotype). Data were presented as mean ± SEM; ^**p < 0.01. Unpaired t-test was used for statistical analysis. f Representative images show hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining of gastrocnemius cross sections from 24-month-old male Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice. Note the very high amount of small muscle fibers as well as myofiber de−/regeneration (arrow head) and inflammatory cells infiltration (arrow) in Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice. Scale bar: 50 μm. g Quantification of gastrocnemius muscle fiber areas from 24-month-old male Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP and Dctn1^LoxP/LoxP; Thy1-Cre mice (n = 6 mice per genotype and 6 sections per mouse). Data were presented as mean ± SEM; ^****p < 0.0001. Unpaired t-test was used for statistical analysis