FIG. 6.

Round GFAP⁺ cells mainly express the astrocyte marker, S100β. Representative fluorescent images of round astrocytes cultured on 2D collagen-coated coverslips (A, B, E, F) and in 3D collagen gels (C, D, G, H). Cells were colabeled for GFAP (red, A, C, E, G) and either S100β (B, D, green) or RC2 (F, H) or nestin. Cell nuclei were labeled with DAPI (blue). Scale bars: 20 μm. Please note the differences in cell size in 2D (A, B, E, F) and 3D (C, D, G, H). (I) Analysis of immunoreactivity patterns shows that the majority of the round cells express S100β, with only a few that were grown in 3D-expressing RC2 or nestin. Bars represent mean ± SEM from at least n = 3 samples; in each sample, n > 50 astrocytes were counted. An asterisk denotes a significant difference at the p < 0.05 level. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea