Fig. 1

Clinical course of PLP139-151-induced EAE in a representative experiment and sampling CXCL12 expression in the CNS at different phases of EAE. a EAE was induced in (C57Bl/6J × SLJ/J) F1 mice (n = 20) by immunization with PLP139-151/CFA and scored for the clinical manifestations as described in “Methods” section. The horizontal bars indicate phase of disease progression at which mice were sacrificed for immunohistopathology analysis of the CNS. In the second remission phase (denoted by asterisk), only individual mice that spontaneously fully recovered from EAE (with a score =0 for 7–10 days) were used for immunohistopathology analysis of the CNS. These mice are referred to as EAE-recovered mice. In this representative experiment, three mice fully recovered from clinical EAE on the days denoted by ŧ. Inset represents the clinical follow-up of an individual mouse that spontaneously recovered from clinical EAE on day 48 and sacrificed for immunohistopathology analysis on day 60 post-immunization. b Quantification of CXCL12 immunofluorescence intensity in consecutive tissue sections taken from the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain from naïve or mice at onset, peak of disease, or following spontaneous recovery (*p < 10⁻¹¹, **p < 10⁻⁹). c Immunostaining for CXCL12 (red) in the striatum (St) and the dorsal third ventricle (D3V). Data in b are from nine consecutive sections from each mouse, n = 3 mice/group. Error bars represent mean ± SEM. All sections were counterstained with DAPI (blue) to visualize cell nuclei. Scale bar: 50 μm