Rotarod test

The motor coordination and balance of the mouse was assessed by the rotarod test, which measures the time that a mouse can stay on a rotating rod with a forced motor activity controlled by the SmartCage^TM system (AfaSci, Inc., Redwood City, CA). The rod has a diameter of 4.5 cm and is 10 cm long, and was operated in an adjustable constant speed (15 revolutions per min). The animals were trained three times daily for 4 consecutive days, approaching a stable level and then treated with vehicle (i.p.). In a similar circadian time of the following day, animals were injected with TP70, i.p. (see Fig. 4C). The drug effect on rotarod performance was assessed and compared to vehicle control in the same subjects using paired Student’s t-test.

Some assessments of possible toxic effects of TP70 on animals. TP70 has no adverse effects on drinking behavior, water consumption (A and B), and motor function (C). A) Time course of lick counts. The dark phase was indicated by the gray shaded area in a 24 h light/dark cycle in home cage. B) Total lick counts in 22 h showed no difference between the two groups (n = 8 per group). C) TP70 (50 mg/kg, i.p.) caused insignificant effects on rotarod performance compared to vehicle treatment in WT mice (n = 8 per drug test).