Osteopontin Expression in the Brain Triggers Localized Inflammation and Cell Death When Immune Cells Are Activated by Pertussis Toxin

Figure 3

Number of TUNEL-positive cells in brain sections after the injection adenoviral vector constructs. The number of TUNEL-labelled apoptotic cells was counted under microscope in 5 sections from each of 6 animals/group, 21 days after the injection of β-gal or OPN constructs. The total number of TUNEL+ cells/lobe was estimated by applying the Abercrombie correction factor. (a) Total number of TUNEL+ cells in the brain lobe injected with the adenoviral vector bearing β-gal or OPN gene, in OPN−/− animals that were previously treated or not with i.p. Ptx. (b) Percentage of TUNEL+ cells identified within the focal lesion. , ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc test, to include contralateral lobe putamen sections. (c) Representative section of the brain of OPN + Ptx animal, at the injection site, showing the lesion perimeter (dotted line) and TUNEL+ cells (black arrows) both within and outside the lesion limits.

(a)

(b)

(c)