Table 2.
Significantly lower mean mRNA-levels of α-synuclein, tyrosine hydroxylase, and neuron-specific enolase in individual SN DA neurons for Parkinson's brains compared to control brains
| Target gene | Assay size | Parkinson's brains (n = 4) | Control brains (n = 5) | PD/Con | t-test P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cDNA amount per neuron (pg) ± SEM | Normalized mean quantity ± SEM | ANOVA P-value | cDNA amount per neuron (pg) ± SEM | Normalized mean quantity ± SEM | ANOVA P-value | ||||
| α-SYN | 62 bp | 3.42 ± 0.41 | 5.81 ± 0.70 | 0.2853 | 0.59 ± 0.24 | 1.00 ± 0.40 | 0.0033 | 5.81 | 0.0004 |
| TH | 73 bp | 1.55 ± 0.22 | 9.05 ± 1.30 | 0.1771 | 0.17 ± 0.07 | 1.00 ± 0.38 | 0.0077 | 9.05 | 0.0060 |
| ENO2 | 77 bp | 1.73 ± 0.24 | 13.22 ± 1.80 | 0.2645 | 0.13 ± 0.04 | 1.00 ± 0.32 | 0.0968 | 13.28 | 0.0056 |
Mean cDNA quantity determined via quantitative real-time RT–PCR of UV-LMD individual neuromelanin-positive SN DA neurons from control and PD brains of α-SYN, TH and ENO2 (compare Table 1). Mean cDNA quantities, normalized to control brains. Amplicon size of the utilized TaqMan real-time PCR assay (assay size) is given as well as the relation of gene-expression between PD and control tissue (PD/Con). ANOVA tests were performed to test for variances of gene-expression within either group (PD and control). P-values of two-tailed t-test indicated significant differences between mean expression levels of all three tested genes between control and PD brains.