Fig. 7. Immunohistochemical detection of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) in the spinal cords of normal control (A), vehicle-treated (B), and lithium-treated (C) rats. VCAM-1 in vascular endothelial cells (asterisk) and astrocytes (arrow) of the spinal cords of normal control rats (A). VCAM-1 immunoreactivity was detected mainly in the vascular endothelial cells (asterisk), infiltrated inflammatory cells, and astrocytes (arrows) in vehicle-treated rats (B), but it was rarely detected in the spinal cords of lithium-treated rats (C). Semi-quantitative analysis of VCAM-1 immunoreactivity in normal control and vehicle- and lithium-treated rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) on day 13 postimmunization (PI) (D). Counterstained with hematoxylin. Values are presented as mean±SE. ^*P<0.05 vs. normal controls (n=5 each group), ^#P<0.05 vs. vehicle treatment. Scale bars=25 µm (A–C).