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. 2021 Aug 13;12:708034. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.708034

FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 2

Regulation of Ago2 in NAc neurons affected METH sensitization. (A) Fluorescence image showing the location of AAV expression and bilateral NAc (Franklin and Paxinos, 2001) of mouse neurons (arrows). Scale bar, 100 μm. (B) Injection of AAV-SYN-shAgo2 into the NAc of mice effectively reduced Ago2 protein and mRNA levels. (C) Injection of AAV-SYN-Ago2 into the NAc of mice increased Ago2 protein and mRNA levels. Student’s t-test showed ***p < 0.001 compared to the virus control group. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM, n = 3–7. (D) Ago2 downregulation in NAc neurons enhanced METH sensitization. (E) Ago2 overexpression in NAc neurons attenuated METH sensitization. Mixed-measures ANOVA showed the following: *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001, vs. the corresponding saline groups; &p < 0.05, &&p < 0.01, vs. AAV-SYN-GFP+METH or AAV-SYN-FLAG+METH; ##p < 0.01, compared to the locomotor activities recorded on day 3 within the same group. The data were presented as the mean ± SEM, n = 8–12. NAc, nucleus accumbens; METH sensitization, METH-induced locomotor sensitization.