Figure 11

Changes affecting astrocytes and motor neurones in spinal cord caudal to the compression epicentre. GFAP immunopositive cells (astrocytes) were detected in the spinal cord ventral horns of the WT (A) and of the G93A-SOD1 (D) rats, in sections caudal to the compression epicenter 7 days post-injury. Quantification showed an elevated but non-significant increase in GFAP immunopositive cells in the G93A-SOD1 compared to the WT spinal cord (P = 0.31, G). Large Nissl stained cells (motor neurones) were detected in the spinal cord ventral horn of WT (B-C) and of G93A-SOD1 (E-F) in sections caudal to the compression epicenter 7 days post-injury. Although the number of motor neurones in the ventral horns are not significantly different between the two groups, further analysis of the motor cells soma size showed that the motor neurones in the WT spinal cord were larger than those identified in the G93A-SOD1 spinal cord (H-I). Kolmogorov-Smirnov test revealed a significant leftward shift in motor neurone soma size of the G93A-SOD1 spinal cord compared to WT spinal cord (P < 0.05, I). ns: non-significant. Scale bar = 200 μm.