Figure 3.

R-47 prevents paclitaxel-induced alterations in dorsal horn microglia. (A) Mice injected with paclitaxel (8 mg/kg i.p. for one cycle) plus distilled water (D.W., the vehicle for R-47) reveal a significant decrease in the number of stage I microglial cells at 35 days post-paclitaxel injection, which was prevented by pre-and co-administration of R-47 at a dose of 10 mg/kg p.o. (C) Mice injected with paclitaxel plus D.W. show a significant elevation in the number of stage III microglial cells, which was prevented by pre-and co-administration of R-47. (B) There were no significant changes in the number of stage II microglial cells between the treatment groups. (D-F) Representative images of microglial stages: (D) Stage I, cells with long, thin, and highly ramified processes; (E) Stage II, cells with shorter, thickened processes with less branching; and (F) Stage III, cells with increased hypertrophic changes such as shorter, thickened processes and cell body enlargement. ****P < 0.0001 D.W.-paclitaxel vs D.W.-vehicle; ####P < 0.0001 R-47-paclitaxel vs D.W.-paclitaxel. Bar represents 10 microns in all images. Images were captured under 63x magnification. D.W., distilled water. n = 6 per group; data expressed as mean ± SEM.