FIGURE 5.

Behavioral improvement was observed in hNSC-transplanted mice. (A, left) Buffer-treated animals had a tendency to spend 71% more time in the center of the box compared to controls, while NSC-transplanted mice spent 85% less time in the center compared to those that received buffer (p < 0.05). Control n = 5, MPTP + buffer n = 4, MPTP + cell n = 5. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey´s post-hoc test. (A, right) All experimental groups had the same distance traveled. Control n = 5, MPTP + buffer n = 4, MPTP + cell n = 5. Kruskal-Wallis test. (B) Forelimb and hindlimb stride lengths decreased by approximately 24% in buffer-treated animals compared to controls (p < 0.01), and hNSC transplant led to a 17% increase in all stride lengths measured compared to the vehicle group (p < 0.05). (C) Forelimb stride width was around 19% shorter in buffer-treated mice compared to control animals (p < 0.05) and NSC transplant tended to increase forelimb stride width by 13% compared to mice that received buffer, although only attaining significance (p < 0.05) on one side measured. CL-IL hindlimb stride width was unchanged among the three experimental groups and when compared to the control group, IL-CL hindlimb stride width was reduced in all MPTP-lesioned mice, although to a greater extent in buffer-treated (17%; p < 0.01) than cell-transplanted animals (10%; p < 0.05). (B,C): Control n = 7, MPTP + buffer n = 3, MPTP + cell n = 5. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. (A–C): *, ^# = p < 0.05, **, ^## = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001, ns, not significant. * = compared to control, ^# = compared to MPTP + buffer. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean.