Fig. 3

SMI 6877002 treatment ameliorates severe paralysis in rats subjected to EAE. a EAE was induced, and animals were treated with 10 μmol/kg SMI 6877002 or vehicle from days 6 to 11 after induction. Clinical scores were observed daily. Experiments were performed with 6 animals in the control group and 11 animals in the EAE and SMI groups. b Immunofluorescence analysis of rat EAE cerebellum to determine macrophage and T cell infiltration into the CNS parenchyma. Sections were stained for ED1 (in red for macrophages), R7.3 (in red for T cells), and laminin (in green for localization). Representative images from three animals per group sacrificed at the peak of the disease. Scale bar 25 μm. c Gene expression in rat spinal cord during peak of disease was measured by qPCR. mRNA expression levels of TNF, NOS2, MMP9, CD80, CD86, and CD40 presented as relative expression compared to GAPDH. Expression was measured in three animals per group. d Quantified numbers of CD68 (for macrophages)- and CD3 (for T cells)-positive immune cell infiltrates in spinal cord tissues collected at day 20 of EAE. For each animal, the amount of infiltrates was counted on four levels, 5 mm between sections. Results are presented as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 as determined by Student’s t test