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. 2013 Jan 3;8(1):e53156. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053156

Figure 4. Hippocampal sclerosis and upregulation of inflammatory markers in the hippocampus of kainic acid-treated rats.

Figure 4

A. Haematoxylin-eosin staining showing typical hippocampal sclerosis in kainic acid-treated rats (KA) (left) as compared to controls (right). Bar represents 200 µm. B. Comparison of the intensity of the GFAP astrocytic marker staining in kainic acid- and saline-treated rats. Vibratome brain sections (50 µm) were immunolabeled using mouse anti-GFAP followed by a secondary antibody coupled to Cy3 fluorophore. The intensity of the staining of three random areas in the hipocampal layers on every section was quantified using the Image J program. Data are expressed as the mean optical density ± SEM (n = 8 for each group of animals). The difference between kainic acid and saline-treated groups was highly significant (student test, P = 0,00018). Bar represents 500 µm. C. Comparison of the intensity of the CD11b staining of activated microglia in kainic acid- and saline-treated rats. Vibratome brain sections (50 µm) were immunolabeled using mouse anti-CD11b followed by streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase staining. The intensity of the staining of three random areas within the hippocampus on every section was quantified using the Image J program. Arrow shows localized staining at the level of the needle tract. Data are expressed as the mean optical density ± SEM (n = 4 for each group of animals). The difference between kainic acid and saline-treated groups was significant (student test, P = 0,0068). Bar represents 200 µm. D. Comparison of the intensity of the IbaI microglial staining in kainic acid- and saline-treated rats. Vibratome brain sections (50 µm) were immunolabeled using goat anti-IbaI followed by anti-goat antibody coupled with cyanine 3. The intensity of the staining of three random areas within the hippocampus on every section was quantified using the Image J program. Data are expressed as the mean optical density ± SEM (n = 6 for each group of animals). The difference between kainic acid and saline-treated groups was significant (student test, p = 0,00121). Bar represents 500 µm.