Fig. 1

Mock and VZV infection of quiescent primary human spinal cord (qHA-sps) and hippocampal (qHA-hps) astrocytes. At 3 days post-infection, mock- and VZV-infected qHA-sps and qHA-hps were analyzed by immunofluorescent antibody assay using chicken anti-GFAP and mouse anti-VZV glycoprotein B (gB) antibodies. No mock-infected cells expressed VZV gB (a, e). In mock-infected qHA-sp cultures (a), all cells staining for nuclear DAPI also expressed GFAP, indicating a homogenous astrocyte culture (1208 cells counted); in mock-infected qHA-hp cultures (e), 99.4% of cells expressed GFAP (953 cells counted). VZV-infected qHA-sps expressed GFAP (b, d, green) and VZV gB (c, d, red); note the fine cytoskeletal filipodia-like projections sprouting from the cellular processes of virus-infected cells (c, d, arrows). VZV-infected qHA-hps expressed GFAP (f, h, green) and VZV gB (g, h, red); note the lack of filipodia (g and h compared to c and d, respectively). In addition, the VZV-infected qHA-hps appeared globular (g, h, red) compared to mock-infected qHA-hps (e). The blue color indicates cell nuclei. Mag × 400