Research Article

Plastic Changes in the Spinal Cord in Motor Neuron Disease

Figure 2

Pilot light microscopy procedures showing semithin sections. For identification of lamina X and ependymal area, 1-2 μm thick serial sections, obtained with a porter blum MT-1 or an ultramicrotome, were stained with 1% toluidine blue and 1% methylene blue in 1% sodium tetraborate and observed under light microscopy. In each experimental group (wild type administered saline, WT Sal; wild type administered lithium, WT Li; transgenic SOD1 G93A mice administered saline, G93A Sal; transgenic SOD1 G93A mice administered lithium, G93A Li) the central canal is limited by densely packed cells with polymorphic nuclei, which increase their number and appear as multiple call layers in G93A mice compared with WT. Again, in G93A mice, the staining is consistently more intense compared with WT. Scale bar = 21 μm.
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