Post SCI cell renewal in the cervical spinal cord.

<p>Coronal spinal cord sections were analyzed in the parenchyma and around the central canal. (A) Quantification of BrdU positive surviving newborn cells in the spinal parenchyma and around the central canal of intact and SCI animals. BrdU positive nuclei in the lateral white matter (B, C) and in the ependymal layer of the central canal (D, E) of intact and injured animals (SCI). (F) Quantification of BrdU positive cells expressing GFAP representing astroglia; BrdU positive cells co-localizing with APC, but negative for GFAP, were counted as oligodendrocytes. (G-J) Immunofluorescent labeling for (G) BrdU (red), (H) APC (green) and (I) GFAP (blue) in a coronal cervical spinal cord section of an injured animal taken from the ventral gray matter. (J) Merged image of (G-I). Co-localization of BrdU with GFAP indicates astroglial differentiation (arrow), whereas BrdU/APC positive cells that are GFAP-negative represent oligodendrocytes (arrowhead). Scale bars: 100 µm in (C), 50 µm in (E), 34.1 µm in (J).