Figure 5

Astrocytes exhibit diminished morphological activation in CXCR3-/- animals. A. By using morphometric analysis of equal sections in wild type (WT) and CXCR3-/- mice, we noticed a significant increase of the mean astrocyte perimeter in corpus callosum (Cc) and thalamus (Th) regions after five weeks of cuprizone diet (n ≥ 700 GFAP⁺ cells per genotype and central nervous system (CNS) region, *P <0.05, ***P <0.001). B. Combined immunofluorescence staining for astrocytes-specific GFAP and microglia using tomato lectin demonstrates reduced cellular extensions and less pronounced hypertrophic GFAP⁺ astrocytes in CXCR3-deficient brains. These findings were detectable close to zones of microglia activation in the Cc (not shown) and Th (overview together with enlarged insets below). C. Quantification of GFAP⁺ cells in both regions of interest indicates increased numbers in WT compared to CXCR3-deficient mice (*P <0.05). Data represent mean ± SEM.