FIG. 2.

VMAT2 and TH immunoreactivity in striatal and midbrain regions of KA1 homozygous mice. (A) Striatal sections from wild-type and homozygous KA1 mice were stained for VMAT2 immunoreactivity (VMAT2) using a specific antiserum. VMAT2 immunoreactivity is present in the caudate putamen (CPu) and the nucleus accumbens (Nacc) of wild-type mice but absent in those structures in homozygous mice. In striatal sections from wild-type and homozygous KA1 mice stained for TH immunoreactivity using a specific antiserum, the level of TH immunoreactivity in the caudate putamen and the nucleus accumbens was similar in both wild-type and homozygous mice. (B) VMAT2 immunostaining is absent in the substantia nigra (SN) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the homozygous KA1 mouse and present in the wild-type mouse, whereas TH immunoreactivity is also present in the dopamine cell body region of homozygous mice. The apparent lack of differences in TH immunoreactivity between wild-type and homozygous mice, seen on gross visual inspection, was confirmed by quantitative analysis of four wild-type and five homozygous animals.