Figure 5.

Astrocytes in micropits express astrocytic markers. Astrocytes were labeled using primary antibodies against glutamine synthetase (GS), plasma membrane glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST), or glial fibrillay acidic protein (GFAP) followed by TRITC-conjugated secondary antibodies (A–C). The images in each panel show fluorescence of solitary cells in micropits (top), small networks of cells in micropits (middle), and grouped non-micropit cells (bottom) with the corresponding differential interference contrast (DIC) images shown on the left. The bar graphs on the right of each panel show the quantification of fluorescence intensity (F) in intensity units (i.u.) within the camera's dynamic range (0–4095) shown as mean ± SEM; 1° indicates the presence (+) or absence (−) of primary antibody against the astrocytic marker. The numbers of cells tested are shown in parentheses. The GFAP labeling was significantly higher in micropit astrocytes compared to non-micropit astrocytes (Student's t-test; *p < 0.05).