1. Paraquat induces selective loss of subsets of dopaminergic neurons.
Paraquat induces selective loss of subsets of dopaminergic neurons. A , Diagrams of medial and lateral dopaminergic neurons scored. The anterior view is at the top, and the posterior view is at the bottom. B , Average number of neurons per cluster. All scoring of neurons was performed on male w;TH-Gal4;UAS-GFP adults. There was one major paired dopaminergic cluster on the anterior side, PAL (protocerebral anterolateral), and five on the posterior side: PPM1 (unpaired), PPM2 (paired), PPM3 (paired) (protocerebral posterior medial); PPL1 and PPL2 (paired) (protocerebral posterolateral) were counted individually (n = 16–30). PAL and PPL1 were found to be the most sensitive clusters, showing significant loss of DA neurons after 6 h of exposure to 20 mm paraquat. PPM2 and PPM3 clusters started to lose neurons by 12 h of feeding, whereas PPM1 and PPL2 showed significant neuronal loss only at 24 h, when general neuronal damage becomes apparent. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, significant differences between paraquat-treated and control neurons in each cluster. Error bars indicate SEM.
Anathbandhu Chaudhuri et al. J. Neurosci. 2007;27:
©2007 by Society for Neuroscience