The morphology of astrocytes and microglia after crush.

<p>The localization of the crush sites is indicated with white bars. Astrocyte at the crush site degenerated and formed a GFAP-IR free zone within a few days. Astrocytes from both the proximal and distal sides of the optic nerve then migrated into this zone and rebuilt the architecture. The GFAP-IR at the ONH intensified after crush, indicating reactive astrogliosis. There were high density of IBA1-IR positive microglia cells/macrophages at the crush site. They were strongly activated and had retracted processes and enlarged cell bodies. This reactive morphology resolved with time. The microglia located further away from the crush site, both distally and proximally, including the ONH, retained stratified morphology. Scale bar, 200 microns.