Figure 1.

Regenerating RGC axons associate closely with GFAP+ processes. A, Representative confocal image of an optic nerve section from an AAV-shPTEN-injected mouse three weeks after crush injury. Red, CTB555. White, GFAP immunoreactivity. Broken yellow line marks the boundary of the glial scar (i.e., lesioned area). Image on the right, higher magnification of the lesioned area. Yellow arrow points to an axon which appears to follow the GFAP+ processes through the lesion. B, An optic nerve section from another AAV-shPTEN-treated mouse with a lesion larger than the animal shown in A. Broken yellow line marks the boundary of the lesioned area. Image on the right, higher magnification of the lesioned area. Regenerating axons, indicated by the yellow arrowheads, seem to follow the GFAP+ processes through the lesion. C, Representative confocal image of an optic nerve section from an AAV-CNTF-injected mouse three weeks after crush injury. Red, CTB555. White, GFAP immunoreactivity. Right panel, higher magnification of the boxed area in the left panel. The regenerating RGC axons (indicated by yellow arrows) appear to grow along the astrocyte processes. Scale bars, 100 μm.