Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the experimental design for the rat PGJ2-treatment. Eighteen-week-old male Sprague Dawley male rats were microinjected into the right SNpc as shown. Rats received two or four microinfusions of either DMSO (control; 17% in PBS) or PGJ2 (33.4 μg) in 2 μL DMSO/PBS at weekly intervals. Ibuprofen (IBP)-treated rats were fed IBP-mixed chow (800 ppm, ~ 40 mg/kg body weight) starting the day after the first microinfusion and ending 5 weeks later. For all rats, motor behavior was assessed before the first injection and 4 weeks or 8 weeks after the last injection. Following post-injection behavioral assessment, rats were perfused intracardially and the brains were removed for immunohistochemical analyses. N = number of rats per group (gp). X = number of injections (once per week)