Figure 4.

HUMSC-NC transplantation reduced Aβ deposition and soluble Aβ levels. (A) Thioflavin S staining for senile plaques of cerebral cortex and hippocampus in the mice. The staining was performed according to the description in the Methods section. Images were captured with a camera system connected to a fluorescence microscope (Olympus 1×71S1F-3, Japan). Scale bar, 200 μm. (B) Quantification of thioflavin S staining. The plaque burden was calculated as the percentage of thioflavin S staining area over the total area (n = 6 in each group). Image Pro Plus 6 (Media Cybernetics) was used to analyze the images. (C, D) ELISA for soluble Aβ₄₀(C) and Aβ₄₂(D) in the cortex and hippocampus. Mouse brain tissue was homogenized, and soluble protein was extracted. Aβ ELISA kits (Invitrogen) was used to determine the levels of Aβ₄₀ and Aβ₄₂ (n = 6 in each group). Data are presented as mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; HUMSC-NC-treated group versus PBS-treated group.