Figure 6

Phosphorylated α-synuclein aggregates localized to axonal spheroids specific to the α-Gal A-deficient brain. Sagittal brain sections from male 20- to 24-month-old α-Gal A +/0 (a) or -/0 (b) mice were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and serial sections from α-Gal A -/0 mice in the same group were stained with either hematoxylin and eosin (d) or an antibody against phosphorylated α-synuclein (e). H&E staining indicates large eosinophilic axonal spheroids in α-gal A -/0 brains (white arrows, b) that are not evident in α-gal A +/0 (a). This observation is quantified in (c), comparing the number of axonal spheroids counted per field between α-Gal A +/0 and α-Gal A -/0 mice (n = 3). Panels d and e are serial sections demonstrating axonal spheroids (white arrows, d) that are immunopositive for phosphorylated-α-synuclein (white arrows, e) while panel (f) demonstrates the percentage of axonal spheroids that were positive for α-synuclein in serial sections (n = 3). Scale bars = 50 microns.