Fig. 7: Reducing striatum atrophy in the R6/2 mice after in vivo astrocyte-to-neuron conversion. | Nature Communications

Fig. 7: Reducing striatum atrophy in the R6/2 mice after in vivo astrocyte-to-neuron conversion.

From: Gene therapy conversion of striatal astrocytes into GABAergic neurons in mouse models of Huntington’s disease

Fig. 7: Reducing striatum atrophy in the R6/2 mice after in vivo astrocyte-to-neuron conversion.

a Reduction of mHtt inclusions in the striatal astrocyte-converted neurons in the R6/2 mice. The mHtt aggregates (green dots) were detected in most of the striatal neurons (NeuN, cyan), but some NeuroD1 plus Dlx2-converted neurons (red, pointed by arrows) showed no mHtt aggregates. Arrowheads indicate two converted neurons (mCherry+) with mHtt inclusions. Scale bar: 10 µm. b Assessing striatum atrophy by Nissl staining of serial coronal sections of the R6/2 mouse brain, treated with control mCherry virus alone (top row) or with NeuroD1 plus Dlx2 AAV (bottom row). Scale bar: 0.5 mm. c Quantified data showing that the percentage of neurons with mHtt inclusions in converted neurons was significantly lower compared with their neighboring native neurons or the striatal neurons in the control virus-treated group. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. d Summary graphs of the relative striatum volume (normalized to the WT) among R6/2 mice (P90–97), R6/2 mice treated with control viruses, and R6/2 mice treated with NeuroD1 plus Dlx2 viruses. Striatal atrophy was clearly detected in the R6/2 mice (P90–97), but partially rescued by NeuroD1 plus Dlx2 treatment. Data are shown as box plot (boxes, 25-75%; whiskers, 10-90%; lines, median). **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test.

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