Astrocyte activation in L2/3 level in SPARC-null mice.
(A–C) Immunofluorescence staining of GFAP with PCNA, C3, and S100A10. The expression of the astrocyte marker GFAP (green) was increased both in white and gray matter in SPARC-null mice compared with WT mice, PCNA, C3, and S100A10 (red) were significantly increased in SPARC-null mice. Scale bars: 500 µm in spinal cord overall view, 20 µm in gray and white matter. (D) Western blot and quantitative analysis of C3, S100A10, IL-10, and TGF-β (normalized to β-actin). Data are shown as mean ± SD (n = 3 mice in each group). **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 (Student’s t-test). C3: Complement component 3; GFAP: glial fibrillary acidic protein; IL-10: interleukin-10; PCNA: proliferating cell nuclear antigen; S100A10: soluble protein-100α10; SPARC: secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-beta; WT: wild-type.