Quantification of striatal DA levels in animals treated with rAAV8-torsinA or rAAV-GFP prior to administration of MPTP.

<p>DA levels were determined by HPLC at 14 days after MPTP treatment. The vectors were injected unilaterally, and the left and right striata were analyzed separately to allow comparison of the side injected with rAAV to the contralateral control side in the same animals. All data are normalized to the striatal dopamine content level of saline control group. This experiment was performed twice in two separate groups of animals (n = 10 in each treatment group). The first was conducted using the free base form of MPTP, and produced only a modest degree of DA loss. The second experiment was performed using the hydrochloride salt of MPTP, which produced a more extensive lesion. Data are reported as the mean±SEM. Two-way ANOVA was used to compare differences between virus injection side and non-injection side within each animal group receiving the free base form of MPTP or the hydrochloride salt of MPTP. No significant difference was found in any of the comparisons (P>0.05).