Age and Environment Influences on Mouse Prion Disease Progression: Behavioral Changes and Morphometry and Stereology of Hippocampal Astrocytes

Figure 8

Three-dimensional reconstructions of astrocytes of the DG polymorphic layer at 18 wai (a) with corresponding dendrograms (b) in prion-diseased mice and age-matched controls. Note that aging seemed to shrink astrocyte arbors and that prion disease seemed to be associated with thicker astrocyte processes and larger cell bodies. EE was associated with an increase in the number of branches and a reduction in the prion disease-induced hypertrophy. Linear dendrogram of each astrocyte arbor with the length of each branch segment is displayed to scale as vertical lines and sister branches is horizontally displaced. Arrows indicate changes induced by each variable (environment, infection, and age). Dendrogram was plotted and analyzed with Neuroexplorer (MicroBrightField). Branches of the same parental (primary branch) trunk are shown in one color. Scale bar: 10 μm.

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