Figure 3

Astrocytes in the human spinal cord after traumatic injury. Images were taken from control spinal cords and cases with different survival times after SCI in transverse sections stained with the GFAP antibody. A: GFAP immunohistochemistry in the unlesioned spinal cord white matter revealed astrocytic cell bodies (arrowheads) in between a homogenous network of processes. B: At 2 days after trauma, areas of massive tissue destruction demonstrated a dramatic loss of GFAP immunoreactivity. Hardly any astroglial cell bodies were visible and an irregular loose arrangement of processes can be seen. C: 8 days after injury, highly GFAP-positive activated astrocytes were spread over peri-lesional white and gray matter (arrowheads) with an increased density of processes. D: Eleven days after SCI, large, highly GFAP-positive astrocytes were surrounded by a dense irregular network of processes. E: In the peri-lesional area, about 1 segment away from the lesion site, activated astroglia could be detected 1 year after trauma. F: At the lesion site of the same case, a dense astroglial GFAP-positive scar was visible in which the cell bodies were hardly detectable. (A-F, mag. 215;260)