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. 2018 Nov 1;14:1744806918810099. doi: 10.1177/1744806918810099

Figure 5.

Figure 5.

Morphologic analysis of the induction of axonal plasticity in the dorsal horn of the rat lumbar spinal cord. (a). A cross-section of the lumbar (L4) spinal cord of a Copenhagen sham-control rat. In the lamina IV and V of the gray matter, there are multiple bundles of myelinated axons within the boxed areas of the ipsilateral right (R) and contralateral left (L) spinal cord. Detail of myelinated bundles is further presented in (b) in a magnified area indicated in the yellow box (R), there are bundles of myelinated axons indicated by arrows. In (c–e), the ipsilateral area of the CIP model, a bundle of myelinated axons (c) has areas of large aggregation of small axonal profiles (delineated by yellow arrowheads in (d)), which are <300 nm in diameter. Similar bundles of myelinated axons in the contralateral graymatter contain only rare, individual axonal profiles <300 nm (yellow arrowheads in (e)). In the CP sham-surgery control model rat (f–h), the myelinated axon bundles of the dorsal horn (f) have low numbers of small axonal profiles in the ipsilateral (g) and contralateral (h) horns. In SD-NEP model rats (i–k), the ipsilateral dorsal horn that shows a bundle of cross-sections of myelinated axons (i) has aggregations of numerous profiles of axonal sprouts (delineated by yellow arrowheads in (h)) which are smaller than 300 nm in diameter. In the contralateral dorsal horn, similar bundles have only rare individual axonal profiles <300 nm (arrowhead in (k)) intermixed with large unmyelinated axonal profiles. In SD-control rats (L-N), bundles of cross-sections of myelinated axons contain rare axonal profiles <300 nm that are intermixed with larger unmyelinated profiles in both dorsal horns (m and n). (a and b) Toluidine blue. (c to n) TEM. Size of bars: (a) 500 µm, (b) 50 µm, (i and l) 4 µm, (c and f) 2 µm, (d, e, g, h, j, k, m and n) 500 nm. Samples were analysed from Copenhagen CIP-model rats (n = 4), Copenhagen sham control rat (n = 1), SD NEP rats (n = 3) and SD sham control rat (n = 1). Other abbreviations are as indicated in Figure 1.