Figure 6From: Impact of intravenous immunoglobulin on the dopaminergic system and immune response in the acute MPTP mouse model of Parkinson’s disease Decreased tyrosine hydroxylase protein and dopamine transporter levels in the mouse striatum following MPTP treatment. 125I-RTI-121 specific binding to dopamine transporter (DAT) was measured with receptor binding autoradiography and showed a remarkable decrease following MPTP treatment without any effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). (A) Representative autoradiograms and (B) quantification. Statistical analysis: mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM; n = 11 to 15/group). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test, ***P <0.001 control-MPTP versus control-vehicle, ### P <0.001 IVIg-MPTP versus IVIg-vehicle. Striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) protein level was also decreased following MPTP intoxication. (C) Representative Western blot of TH in MPTP-mice treated with IVIg or vehicle. (D) Densitometric quantification of the Western blots. Data presented as mean ± SEM (n = 11 to 15/group). Statistical analysis: one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test. ***P <0.001, *P <0.05 versus control-vehicle. Besides the downregulating effect of MPTP, a significant IVIg-induced decrease of TH in the striatum of mice was observed in vehicle-treated mice (*P <0.05 vs. control-vehicle) and was further evidenced using two-way ANOVA analyses in both vehicle and MPTP groups (∞ P <0.05 IVIg vs. control). Percentage of control values is indicated for significant variation (vehicle-control vs. MPTP-control or vehicle-IVIg vs. MPTP-IVIg, respectively).Back to article page