Identification and quantification of basement ECM molecules was performed using immunohistochemistry identifying laminin (A-C) and entactin/nidogen-1 (D-F). Statistical analysis revealed a significant reduction of laminin and entactin/nidogen-1 in the lesioned ventral part of the thoracic spinal cord white matter in TMEV infected, ganciclovir treated, GFAP-transgenic (GSTG) mice at 77 dpi (A, D) compared to the non-astrocyte depleted control groups (B, E). Inserts visualize in more detail the increased intralesional accumulation of laminin (B) and entactin/nidogen-1 (E) in TMEV infected, natrium chloride (NaCl) treated wildtype (WSTP) animals compared to astrocyte depleted mice (A, D). For each antibody, one cross section of the thoracic spinal cord was evaluated per animal. Data are shown as scatter dot plots. The horizontal bar indicates the mean. Significant differences between GSTG and the control groups obtained by Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann–Whitney U post hoc tests are indicated by *, p ≤ 0.05. Bars represent 100 μm in overviews and 50 μm in the inserts.