Fig. 4.

Cell loss in SN. A,B, Changes in total number of TH-positive cells in SNc, as determined by stereology in the rAAV-α-synuclein (A; n = 10–11 per time point) and rAAV-GFP-injected rats (B; n = 5 per time point); C, the number of SNc cells labeled with FG was reduced by ∼50% at 8 weeks in the rAAV-α-synuclein transduced animals but remained unchanged in the GFP transduced controls (M, injected side; L, contralateral intact side); D–H, TH immunohistochemistry showing the progressive loss of TH-positive cells in SNc over time, varying from ∼30–40% (G) to 70–80% (H); I, no TH-positive cell loss was observed in the rAAV-GFP-treated animals; J,K, the degeneration of neurons in the injected SNc (K) was confirmed by using the neuron specific antibody Hu. Scale bars: D, J, 250 μm (apply to D–I and J–M, respectively). † p < 0.0125 compared with intact side; *p < 0.05 compared with rAAV-GFP group.