Fig. 11
Overexpression of VAChT accelerates NMJ degeneration and death of male mice expressing SOD1G93A. The lifespan of male and female SOD1G93A alone and crossed with VAChTHyp mice was determined. Overexpression of VAChT selectively accelerated death of male SOD1G93A mice (a) without altering their weight (c). The average lifespan of female mice was unchanged (b). Male SOD1G93A;VAChTHyp mice also exhibited accelerated motor deficits at 75 days of age (d, e) and accelerated NMJ degeneration at 90 days of age (f–h). All mice were maintained on a C57BL/6 background. For survival and motor tests, SOD1G93A and SOD1G93A;VAChTHyp mice without fluorescence protein were used. Survival curves are based on as follows: Males = 31 SOD1G93A and 21 SOD1G93A;VAChTHyp. Females = 41 SOD1G93A and 20 SOD1G93A;VAChTHyp. Motor tests were performed on 10 male SOD1G93A and 10 male SOD1G93A;VAChTHyp mice. NMJ analysis was performed on four male mice per genotype expressing tdTomato in motor neurons. At least 50 NMJs were examined in the EDL muscle per animal. Scale bar = 50 μm. Error bar = Standard Error. *P value <0.05