Figure 3.

Expression of ChR2 in astrocytes in the VLPO area following AAV-mediated gene transfer. A, B, The VLPO regions of rat brains infected with AAV-ChR2-eYFP were subjected to immunofluorescence analysis to evaluate ChR2 (green) expression in microglia (A, Iba-1, red) and neurons (B, NeuN, red). These results were confirmed by reconstructed Z-section images. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). Images are representative of three independent experiments. C, D, Quantification of Iba-1, NeuN, or AAV-ChR2-eYFP-positive cells around the VLPO region. Shown are the number of cells (a) and their co-localization (b). Each column and error bar represents the mean and SD from three experiments; n.d., not detected. Note that neither Iba-1 nor NeuN was co-localized with AAV-ChR2-eYFP.