Figure 1 | Laboratory Investigation

Figure 1

From: Glial dystrophin-associated proteins, laminin and agrin, are downregulated in the brain of mdx mouse

Figure 1

(ad) Ultrastructural analysis of mdx (a–c) and control (d) vessels. (ac) Mdx vessels lined by irregular endothelium alternating thick (a, arrow) and thin cytoplasmic regions (arrowhead), surrounded by perivascular spaces (a, asterisk), subtended by discontinuous basement membrane, lacking in some tracts, (b, arrowhead) in which a glial endfoot (g) faces a pericyte protrusion (p). (c) Mdx vessel subtended by thickened basement membrane (arrow) enveloped by a swollen glial endfoot (asterisk). (d) Control vessel lined by flattened endothelial cells (e) and surrounded by a continuous basement membrane (arrowhead) and glial endfoot containing glycogen granules (asterisk). (eh) Immunohistochemical expression of laminin and agrin in mdx (e, g) and control (f, h) vessels. Laminin (e, f) and agrin (g, h) are faintly and discontinuously expressed on the abluminal sides of mdx vessels (e, g insets, arrows) and strongly expressed in the control ones (f, h insets, arrows). (il) Immnunohistochemical expression of Kir 4.1 and AQP4 in mdx (i, k) and control (j, l) vessels. (i, k) Mdx vessels display a discontinuous and puntiform staining (i, arrow) for Kir 4.1 and rod (k, arrow) for AQP4 proteins. (l, n) Control vessels intensely and uniformly labeled by antibodies anti-Kir 4.1 (j) and anti-AQP4 (l) proteins. Scale bar: a, 0.57 μm; bd, 0.33 μm; e, g, h, 50 μm; f, 40 μm; eh inset 25 μm; ik, 12.5 μm.

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