Fig. 5: Eliminating microglia ameliorates AAV-hα-Syn-induced parkinsonian lesions in the Cntnap4 partial deficient mice.

A Schematic model of the study design. B, C Immunohistochemical staining and quantification of Iba1-positive cells in the SNpc of WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups. Scale bars: 50 μm. D–F Co-staining and quantification of Iba1 with CD68 (E), and Iba1 with C1q (F) in the SNpc of WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups. Scale bars: 40 μm. Magnified images are shown in the right column of panel. Scale bars: 8 μm; n = 7–9. G, H The mRNA expression levels of Il-1b, Il-6, Tnfa, Ifng, Csf1r, Cx3cr1, Tmem119, and P2ry12 were determined by qRT-PCR; n = 3 per group. I, J Co-staining of GFAP with Iba1 (I), and GFAP with C3 (J) in the SNpc of WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups. Scale bars: 8 μm. K, L Total distance traveled and movement speed in WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups. M The grasping test was used to examine the grip strength of mice; n = 10, 12, and 8 in the WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups, respectively. N–P Immunohistochemical staining and quantification of TH-positive cells in WT, Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn, and Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα-Syn + PLX3397 groups. Scale bars: 1 mm for striatum, 100 μm for SNpc. Magnified images of TH-positive cells in the SNpc are shown in the right column. Scale bars: 50 μm; n = 6–11. Q–S Protein expression levels of Cntnap4, hα-Syn, phosphorylation of α-synuclein at serine 129, and mouse α-synuclein were determined using western blotting; n = 3 per group. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM. **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 vs^. WT; ^##p < 0.01, ^#p < 0.05 vs. Cntnap4^+/− + AAV-hα^-Syn. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA + Tukey’s multiple comparisons test.