Fig. 2

Chronic infusion of IgG^AQP4+ decreased AQP4 expression in the rat spinal cord and optic nerve. a Example of AQP4 loss with preserved GFAP-positive astrocytes in the spinal cord of the NMO-rat compared to the Control-rat (D7, rat infused with IgG^AQP4+1,2 and IgG^Control1,2 as an example) IHC immunohistochemistry. Scale bars = 20 μm. b Confirmation of AQP4 loss using evaluation of AQP4 expression in the white and gray matter of the NMO-rat spinal cord (n = 5) compared to the Control-rat (n = 4), by IHC (fluorescence intensity) and Western blot (Wb, relative to actin). In parallel, GFAP expression is enhanced (Wb). c Loss of AQP4 expression in the optic nerve of the NMO-rat as shown by IHC and evaluation of fluorescence intensity (*p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001, ANOVA)