Figure 5: TLR2-dependent microglial activation by α-synuclein overexpression in nigral dopaminergic neurons.

(a) Experimental scheme. (b) Immunofluorescence images of the SN (dotted lines). Scale bar, 100 μm (c) MHC II fluorescence in the SN of WT mice that received striatal injections of viral vectors expressing GFP and α-synuclein (n=5). (d) MHC II fluorescence in the SN of WT and Tlr2−/− mice after striatal injections of α-synuclein vectors (n=5). (e) Correlation between MHC II and GFP/α-synuclein fluorescence in SN (WT; n=9, Tlr2−/−; n=7, GFP; n=12). MHC II fluorescence data (c,d) were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U-test. Error bars represent ±s.e.m. *P<0.05. ‘n’ represents the number of animals.