Figure 5

The effect of Shh on cell survival and differentiation. Representative microscopic images show BrdU labeled surviving cells (green), Olig2 labeled motor neuron precursor cells (red), and doubling labeled BrdU and Olig2 cells in control (A) and in 500 ng/ml shh treated cell culture (B) from WT mice. The number (D) but not percentage (C) of BrdU labeled surviving cells was significantly higher in Shh treated cultures than in controls. Both the percentage and the number of cells double-labeled with Olig2 and BrdU were significantly higher in Shh treated cultures than in controls (Shh 39.2% ± 4.6% vs control 17.0% ± 3.0%, ** p = 0.0003; Shh 5 ± 1 vs control 2 ± 0, ** p = 0.0001, E, F). Scale bar =10 μm (A, B).