Fig. 3
From: Complement activation at the motor end-plates in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Representative confocal images of triple-immunofluorescence staining for neurofilament (NF-H, Cy3), motor end-plates with α-BTX (Alexa 488), and complement component C5b-9 with MAC (Cy5) in control (a, b, c, d) and ALS intercostal muscle (e, f, g, h), shows presence of MAC (white asterisks in h and enlarged in the insert) on end-plates (white arrows in h) and around nerves in ALS muscle (white arrowhead in h) but not in controls (c, d). Quantification showed a significantly higher percentage of MAC-positive innervated end-plates (P = 0.001) and denervated end-plates (P = 0.001) in ALS intercostal muscle compared to controls. Numbers of MAC-positive end-plates in 20 non-overlapping Z-stacks in 40-μm thick intercostal muscle sections is given on the y-axis. Error bars represent standard deviation of the mean (i). NE staining (dark brown) followed by an immune staining for MAC (blue) showed (k) MAC deposition deposited on the end-plates of ALS donors (white arrow in k enlarged in the insert), j but not on end-plates of control donors. n.d. not detected