FIGURE 8.
Elevation of intracellular α-synuclein increases DAT co-localization with the GM1 gangliosides in the cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains. A, dopaminergic neurons labeled with CTxB-Alexa (green) and DAT (red) without (right) and with (left) eCFP-α-synuclein overexpression. CTxB labels GM1 gangliosides that are distributed in cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains. CFP-α-synuclein overexpression increases DAT/CTx-B co-localization at the membrane (yellow) compared with control group (see merged images). B, normalized bar graph shows CTxB-647 and YFP-DAT co-localization in HEK cells ± eCFP-α-synuclein following vehicle (VEH) or amphetamine treatment.(n = 21–25 cells from three independent experiments, p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc analysis). Scale bar, 10 μm. **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001.