Figure 1

Validation of Park2 gene knockout and the effects of parkin deficit on core body temperature and body weight. (A) Homozygous parkin knockout (PKO) and wild type (WT) Long Evans male rats were sacrificed at the age of 2 months. The striata were dissected out and analyzed for parkin immunoreactivity using SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis with two different anti-parkin antibodies. The analysis demonstrated a complete loss of parkin immunoreactivity in the PKO rats (n = 6). (B) Core body temperatures and body weight was assessed in the WT and PKO rats. The PKO rats displayed normal core body temperature (B) and higher body weight than the age-matched WT controls (+12.6%, Student’s t-test, p < 0.001, n = 12) (C). The data are expressed as mean ± SEM. ***p < 0.001. Abbreviations: PKO, parkin knockout; WT, wild type.