Fig. 1

Selective elimination of neurons in the DN innervating the CL. (A and A’) Selective targeting of the cerebellothalamic tracts. Injection of the NeuRet lentiviral vector encoding the human IL-2Rα-EGFP into the CL induced the expression of transgene in various brain regions innervating the CL. Subsequent injection of the IT solution into the DN selectively eliminated the cerebellothalamic tracts. b IL-2Rα-EGFP expression around the injection sites. The GFP expression is observed in the CL. c IL-2Rα-EGFP expression through retrograde transport. The expression is localized in neurons in the DN, M1, M2, and SNr. cc, corpus callosum; DC, dorsal cochlear nucleus; Hb, habenular; and ml, medial lemniscus. d Selective neuronal elimination in the DN. The number of GFP⁺ cells in the DN is decreased by the IT treatment. n = 8 mice for the PBS-treated group and n = 6 mice for the IT-treated group. e Intact number of neurons in several brain regions innervating the CL. The number of GFP⁺ cells in the SNr, M1, or M2 is not affected by the IT treatment. n = 4 mice for each group. f Intact number of neurons in other deep cerebellar nuclei. The number of NeuN⁺ cells in the IntA, IntP, or Med is not changed by the IT treatment. n = 8 mice for the PBS-treated group and n = 6 mice for the IT-treated group. ***p < 0.001 (Student’s t-test). All data are expressed as the mean ± s.e.m. Scale bars: (B) 400 μm and (C-F) 100 μm