Reduction of lower motor neuron degeneration in wobbler mice by N-acetylcysteine

Jeffrey T. Henderson, Mohammed Javaheri, Susan Kopko and John C. Roder

Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital,
Program in Molecular Biology and Cancer, 600 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario M5G-1X5

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Figure 2.NAC prevents losses in axon caliber within the medial facial nerve of wobbler mice.

A: Comparison of axon calibers of the facial nerve of NW and wr/wr(N) treatment groups. at 9 weeks of age, n=6 animals per group. Note the similarity of the axon calibers of the wr/wr(N) (NAC-treated) to NW (non-wobbler) controls.

B: Comparison of the axon calibers of the facial nerve of wr/wr and wr/wr(N) treatment groups at 9 weeks of age, n=6 animals per group. Note the marked reduction in small (atrophic) axon calibers in wr/wr animals treated with NAC as compared (L-alanine treated) wr/wr mice.

C: Summary of axon distributions from wr/wr, wr/wr(N), and NW treatment groups. Note that treatment with N-acetyl cysteine results in an increase in the distribution of wr/wr axon calibers to NW levels. For all groups n=6; Values represent the mean + S.E.M., (*) signifies a significant difference (p<0.05) between wr/wr(N) and wr/wr groups at the indicated axon area. (+) signifies a significant difference between NW and wr/wr groups at the indicated axon area. Within a given group, individual percent values did not vary by more than + 2% of the mean.