Fig. 5
From: Diffusion MRI quantifies early axonal loss in the presence of nerve swelling
Representative ×72 immunohistochemical staining images of anti-total neurofilament (SMI-312, total axons), phosphorylated neurofilament (SMI-31, intact axon), myelin basic protein (MBP, myelin sheath), and 4′, 6-dianidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI, nuclei) from severe (a, column 1) and mild (a, column 3) optic neuritis nerves demonstrate the different degrees of tissue damages. The corresponding ×84 zoom-in images (covered ~50% of the optic nerve cross-section area) are displayed alongside ×72 images (a, column 2 and 4, respectively). Swollen axons, some aggregated to form enlarged staining regions (a, yellow arrows), were seen in SMI-312 and SMI-31 staining images. Axonal loss and injury (reduced SMI-312 and SMI-31 positive staining), demyelination (decreased MBP positive staining), and cell infiltration (increased density of DAPI staining) were present in optic neuritis nerves. The zoom-in ×84 DAPI and SMI-31 double-staining images from one EAE optic nerve with 200 ms (b) and 800 ms (c) exposure time revealed the multiple-axon aggregation underlying the unusually large green spots seen in the SMI-312 and SMI-31 images (b, c, red and white circles). Scale bar 50 μm