Fig. 1: Loss of DDHD2 induces motor neuron degeneration in the spinal cord. | Cell Death & Disease

Fig. 1: Loss of DDHD2 induces motor neuron degeneration in the spinal cord.

From: Loss of DDHD2, whose mutation causes spastic paraplegia, promotes reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis

Fig. 1

a Hematoxylin and eosin staining of lumbar spinal cords of WT and DDHD2 KO mice The motor neurons were counted. Values are means ± SEM (N = 3). b, d, e Photomicrographs of cross-sections of the lumbar spinal cords of WT and DDHD2 KO mice labeled with an antibody against SMI32 (b), GFAP (d), or cleaved caspase3 (e). The total fluorescence intensity or the total number of cleaved caspase3-positive cells in each spinal cord section was determined. Six sections were analyzed in each mouse, and three mice were used for each experiment. Data represent means ± SEM (N = 3). c Spinal cord lysates (20 µg) of WT and DDHD2 KO mice at 6 months of age were analyzed by WB with antibodies against DDHD2, SMI32, and α-tubulin. The intensity of immunoreactive signals was quantified, and the SMI32 level in KO mice relative to that in WT mice is expressed as means ± SEM (N = 3). f Primary motor neurons from the spinal cords of WT and DDHD2 KO mice were cultured for 2 days, and then immunostained with an anti-SMI32 antibody. The number of surviving SMI32-positive motor neurons in an arbitrarily chosen microscopic field with a size of 212 × 212 μm2 was determined. Six fields were analyzed in each experiment. Data represent means ± SEM (N = 3). The scale bars for whole cell panels are 10 μm. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, Student’s t-test

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