Fig. 6

Teriflunomide treatment significantly reduces axonopathic alterations in optic nerves of PLPmut mice. a Representative immunocytochemical identification of SMI32+ axonal spheroids in longitudinal optic nerve sections from Wt, untreated mutants (PLPmut), preventively treated mutants (150 days, starting from postnatal month 4; PLPmut + teriflunomide preventive), and PLPmut mice after treatment interruption at 75 days after treatment onset (PLPmut + teriflunomide terminated). Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. b Quantification of SMI32+ axonal spheroids of Wt and PLPmut mice and of PLPmut mice after 150 days of preventive treatment. The numbers of SMI32+ axonal spheroids were robustly increased in the untreated PLPmut mice, but this increase was significantly attenuated upon preventive treatment. Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. c Quantification of SMI32+ axonal spheroids in optic nerve sections of PLPmut mice after 75 days of preventive treatment, followed by 75 days without treatment. Reduction of SMI32+ axonal spheroid numbers persisted after terminated treatment. Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. d Immunocytochemical depiction of SMI32+ axonal spheroids (left) and their quantification (right) in optic nerve sections of Wt and PLPmut mice and in PLPmut mice after 150 days of therapeutic treatment (PLPmut + teriflunomide therapeutic) starting at 10 months of age. Therapeutic treatment significantly attenuated elevation of SMI32+ axonal spheroid numbers in PLPmut mice. Mice were investigated at 15 months of age. Scale bar, 30 μm. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests. *^,#P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. n = 5 mice per group