Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 17 pp 17713—17737

Figure 3. Comparison of PD cerebellar mitochondria with different Braak classification. (A) Free fatty acid concentration is increased in cerebellar mitochondria of PD Braak stage 5-6 males. A significant increase in FFA levels was shown in cerebellar mitochondria of Braak stage 5-6 males compared to age-matched controls (p=0.0164). No significant differences were apparent between PD Braak stage 3-4 and control. PD Braak 3-4 males (n=5), PD Braak 5-6 males (n=5), age-matched control males (n=10). Plots show mean values (nmol/μl) ± SEM (Kruskal-Wallis test with multiple comparisons). (B) Cerebellar levels of PTGS2 in PD Braak 5-6 mitochondrial fractions are lower compared with PD Braak 3-4 and controls. PTGS2 measured in enriched mitochondrial fractions were present in significantly lower quantities in the cerebellum of PD Braak 5-6 males compared to male controls (p=0.0307). No significant difference in PTGS2 levels were seen between PD Braak 3-4 and age-matched control. Mitochondrial PTGS2 levels, normalized to β-actin, were determined by Western blotting using mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions extracted from cerebellar tissue from age-matched male control (n=10) and PD Braak 3-4 (n=5) and 5-6 (n=4). Columns show the mean ±SEM (Kruskal-Wallis test with multiple comparisons). (C) Oxylipin concentrations in cerebellar mitochondria. LTB-4 is significantly decreased in PD Braak 5-6 males (n=5) compared to PD Braak 3-4 males (n=5); p=0.0139 (Kruskal-Wallis test with multiple comparisons). No significant differences were apparent between PD male groups and age-matched male controls (n=5). Red /blue titles represent pro- /anti-inflammatory, respectively. No significant changes were found between control males and PD Braak 5-6 males. Plots display mean concentration (pmol/g) ±SEM. Refer to Supplementary Table 5 for all p values (Kruskal-Wallis test with multiple comparisons). (D) Arachidonic acid levels in PD. Cerebellar mitochondrial arachidonic acid levels are similar in control males but significant variation is seen in PD Braak 3-4 and 5-6 males. Refer to Supplementary Table 4 for f values. All samples were age matched. PD Braak 3-4 male n=5; PD Braak 5-6 male n=5; control male n=5.