Fig. 5

MCAO induces a continuous long-term increase of aggregated α-synuclein species in the CNS of TgM83^+/− mice. Quantification of the amount of human α-synuclein protein by ELISA in brain homogenates of TgM83^+/− mice subjected to MCAO showed a continuous decline in the ipsi- (dark red) and contralateral (light red) brain hemisphere up to 180 days post surgery, after which α-synuclein levels slightly rose again but did not reach levels detected in the brains of animals at 360 days post sham surgery (a). No changes in α-synuclein protein levels were observed in the ipsi- (dark blue) or contralateral (light blue) brain hemisphere of animals after sham surgery. Quantification of aggregated α-synuclein species by FRET analysis in brain homogenates of TgM83^+/− mice revealed a steady increase in the ipsi- (dark red) and contralateral (light red) brain hemisphere beginning 30 days post surgery (b). In contrast, α-synuclein did not aggregate in the brains of TgM83^+/− mice after sham surgery. Both brain hemispheres of three animals each were analyzed per group at 14, 30, 90, 180, and 360 days post surgery. The ELISA data represents the mean ± standard deviation. The FRET data are shown as boxplots. P values were computed using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test (P: * < 0.05, **** < 0.0001)