Figure 2.

MANF protects TH-positive cell bodies in the substantia nigra and TH-immunoreactive fibers in the striatum from 6-OHDA. a, TH-positive cell bodies in the SN analyzed at 4 weeks after lesion. In the vehicle-treated rat, intrastriatal 6-OHDA caused loss of ∼34% of the TH-positive cell bodies in the SN compared with the intact side. The protective effect of MANF was significant at the dose of 10 μg. b–e, Photomicrographs of sections from the midbrain showing TH-immunohistochemical staining of the SN. b–e, TH-positive cells in the SNpc of an intact rat (b) or of a 6-OHDA-lesioned rat pretreated with either vehicle (c), GDNF (10 μg) (d), or MANF (10 μg) (e). f, Density of TH-positive fibers in the striatum. Optical density of striatal sections was measured at three rostrocaudal levels. Optical density was reduced by 36% (compared with the intact side) in the vehicle-treated rats. MANF protected TH-positive fibers in the striatum. The GDNF-treated group did not differ from the vehicle group. g, h, Photomicrographs of striatal TH-positive fibers in an intact rat (g) or pretreated either with vehicle (h), GDNF (10 μg) (i) or MANF (10 μg) (j). Scale bar: b–e, 270 μm. a, f, Means ± SEM are shown; n = 8–13 in each group. Tukey–Kramer's post hoc analysis after one-way ANOVA, **p < 0.01 versus the corresponding control.