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. 2009 Dec 30;133(1):126–138. doi: 10.1093/brain/awp304

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Reduced secondary tissue damage and increased innervation of serotonergic fibres in recombinant SLPI-treated mice after spinal cord injury. (A) The lesion size, measured as a ratio of the area bounded by GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes to the total area of the spinal cord in cross-section, shows significantly reduced tissue damage in recombinant SLPI-treated mice at and near the epicentre of injury. (B) There is also increased survival of neurons in the ventral horn of the spinal cord at distances rostral and caudal to the site of injury. (C) The percentage of the area of spared myelin in the dorsal columns detected by luxol fast blue staining. Graph shows that myelin sparing at different distances from the lesion epicentre is significantly greater in recombinant SLPI-treated mice as compared to vehicle-treated controls. Micrographs show luxol fast blue staining of the dorsal columns of vehicle-treated (Ci) and recombinant SLPI-treated (Cii) mice. (D) Quantification of serotonergic immunoreactivity 1 mm caudal to the injury reveals significantly increased serotonergic fibre innervation caudal to the lesion in recombinant SLPI-treated mice. Micrographs of serotonergic innervation of the ventral horn of vehicle-treated (Di) and recombinant SLPI-treated (Dii) mice. *P < 0.05 for all graphs; n = 7 per group. Scale bars in Cii and Dii = 200 µm.