Figure 8.
MPTP-induced increased striatal FosB expression is attenuated by calpain administration. Representative coronal forebrain sections depict low basal expression of FosB in the striatum (a) and a dramatic elevation 2 weeks after chronic administration of MPTP (b). Striatal sections from mice administered MPTP and vehicle revealed a comparable upregulation of FosB (c), whereas tissues from mice administered MPTP and the calpain inhibitor MDL-28170 revealed an attenuation of postsynaptic FosB expression (d). e, Quantification of striatal FosB-positive nuclei show significant differences between treatment groups (*ANOVA, p < 0.0005; Newman-Keuls, p < 0.01 compared with saline control). FosB expression in MDL-MPTP-treated mice did not differ from saline-treated controls (p > 0.05). Data represent mean ± SEM (n = 5-6 per group).