Fig. 3

Sprouting of TH+ fibers in the substantia nigra of hemiparkinsonian rats at week 2 after transfection with the phDAT-BDNF-flag using NTS-polyplex. Representative micrographs of TH-immunohistochemistry and Cresyl Violet counterstaining (a-e) of the substantia nigra (SN) from hemiparkinsonian rats at three weeks after a 6-OHDA striatal lesion, and two weeks after applying one of the following treatments in the ipsilateral SN: without transfection (NT), Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium injection (DMEM), phDAT-EGFP (GFP), or phDAT-BDNF-flag (BDNF) transfection. Intact refers to the SN without striatal 6-OHDA lesion. Illustrations of image processing using ImageJ software for quantification of the number of TH+ cells (f-j) and TH-immunoreactivity density (k-o). The bar graphs show the counting of TH+ cells (p) and TH-immunoreactivity density (q) in the experimental conditions as mentioned above. Values are expressed as the mean ± SE; n = 3 animals per group. ** P < 0.001 when compared with the intact side. † P < 0.001 when compared with the negative control groups. One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test. Scale bar = 100 μm