Fig. 5.

Microglia, astrocytes and iron in the putamen and globus pallidus of SLE patients and normal control. (A) In control putamen and globus pallidus microglia with thin ramified processes were found. SLE patients showed dystrophic microglia characterized by beaded, twisted and fragmented processes. Within the globus pallidus of one SLE patient a small area with activated microglia surrounding a blood vessel was found. (B) Astrocytes, on the other hand, showed in both control and SLE brain a normal morphology with a dense network of finely branching processes especially close to vessels. In the control globus pallidus only a few astrocytes were found. (C) The modified Meguro staining showed that iron was predominantly found in oligodendrocytes and myelin and, to a lesser extent, in neurons, microglia and astrocytes (arrows) in both control and SLE brain. Scale bar size = 50 µm.