Figure 2.

NSC transplantation is associated with reduced Aβ load and increased microglia within hippocampal and cortical regions. Representative IHC images of Aβ (a, scale bar 500 µm; b,c, scale bar 200 µm) and IBA-1 (f, scale bar 500 µm; g,h, scale bar 200 µm) in hippocampus and cortex of APP/PS1 mice at 29 weeks (17 weeks post-NSC/vehicle transplant). Significant plaque formation was evident in the sham group, and was reduced in NSC-treated mice (arrows, a–c). Quantification by IHC fluorescence intensity (d) and by Aβ40/42 ELISA on whole brain homogenate (e) shows a significant reduction in Aβ level in the NSC group compared to sham controls (p < 0.05; Mann-Whitney, t-test). The NSC group also exhibits many IBA-1+ microglia with activated morphologies (arrows, fold change relative to WT controls; f–h), which was increased compared to sham controls (p < 0.05; t-test) when quantified by fluorescence intensity (i) and number of activated cells (j). In NSC mice, many microglia (green, arrows) localized to and were intimately associated with Aβ plaques (red) compared to the sham group (k,l; scale bar 50 µm). Data are representative images or mean ± SEM (*p < 0.05). Sample size: WT n = 5, NSC n = 10, and sham n = 10.