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. 2021 Aug 26;15:730348. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.730348

FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

BDA-labeled contralesional CST fibers growing toward the ipsilesional denervated gray matter of lumbar spinal cord in the hemisection model rats. (A) Representative transverse sections at the lumbar enlargement level in the hemisection model and intact rats. The BDA-labeled CST in the contralesional side germinates collateral fibers into the denervated gray matter at L3 level in the hemisection model rats; in contrast, fewer CST fibers were detected to show collateral sprouting in intact rats. The arrows indicate the axons of the lumbar spinal cord in the hemisection model and the intact rats. (B) Lumbar cord gray matter is categorized into dorsal, intermediate, and ventral parts. (C) Quantified data show a significant increase in the index of CST sprouting axons in the denervated spinal cord after hemisection injury. (D) The sketch map shows the contralesional CST axon sprouting contributing to the spontaneous locomotor recovery, confirmed in the hemisection model rats. Bars indicate mean with SD. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. ***P < 0.001. n = 8 for CST tracing in hemisection model rats; n = 4 in intact rats. Scale bar, 150 μm. CST indicates the corticospinal tract; BDA, biotinylated dextran amine; CC, central canal.