Fig. 6.

Stroke increases cholinergic neurodegeneration and levels of tau phosphorylation (p) in aged hAPP-SL mice. a Representative 10× images of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-immunolabeled dystrophic neurites (arrows) in the primary somatosensory cortex of 18 mo sham- or stroke-operated hAPP-SL mice (Equivalent = area imaged in wt-sham mice that is equivalent to the ipsilateral hemisphere imaged in wt-stroke mice). Scale bar, 125 μm. b Quantification revealed that relative to sham-operated hAPP-SL mice, the area occupied by cholinergic dystrophic neurites in the cortex was significantly higher in the stroked hAPP-SL mice; no significant difference in the amount of cholinergic dystrophic neurites was found between the ipsilateral versus contralateral cortex. c Representative 10× images of AT8 (p-tau^{Ser202/Thr205})-immunolabeled dystrophic neurites (arrows) in the primary somatosensory cortex of 18 mo sham- or stroke-operated hAPP-SL mice (Equivalent = area imaged in wt-sham mice that is equivalent to the ipsilateral hemisphere imaged in wt-stroke mice). Scale bar, 125 μm. d Quantification revealed that relative to sham-operated hAPP-SL mice, the area occupied by p-tau+ dystrophic neurites was significantly higher in the cortex (top graph), thalamus (middle graph), and internal capsule (bottom graph) of the stroked hAPP-SL mice; no significant difference in the amount of p-tau+ dystrophic neurites was found between the ipsilateral versus contralateral cortex and thalamus, although the ipsilateral internal capsule showed significantly more p-tau+ dystrophic neurites than the contralateral region. **p<0.01 and ***p<0.001