Fig. 8

Immunostaining of microglia after rat spinal cord injury. a Immunostaining of IBA-1-positive cells following spinal cord contusion at 0d, 1d, 4d, and 7d, following injection of 8 μl of 100 μg/ml recombinant MIF, 4 μl of 100 μg/ml recombinant CCL5, or 8 μl of 100 mM 4-IPP, respectively. The rectangle indicates region magnified. b Illustration of section sites for immunostaining in the contused cord. c–e Statistic analysis of IBA-1-positive cells in a from 15 fields each. f BBB scores for hindlimb motor function in each group at different time points. Six rats/group were evaluated at 0d after injury, and four rats in the vehicle-treated group and three rats in the 4-IPP- or rMIF-treated group were evaluated from 7 days onwards due to sacrifice for immunostainings following significant difference (n = 3–6). Error bars represent the standard deviation (P < 0.05). Scale bars, 500 μm in section, and 100 μm in magnification