Fig. 5

Morphological evidence of interaction between activated microglia and reactive astrocytes. Figure showing ipsilateral ischemic cerebral cortex at 3 days after MCAO. The dotted line in A delineates approximately the border of the infarct epicenter which shows massive accumulation of activated microglia intermingled with reactive astrocytes. B1, B2 show lectin-labeled activated microglia (green). They are obviously hypertrophic and are mostly rounded (B1) or emit short stout processes (B2). GFAP labeled reactive astrocytes (red) are also hypertrophic, and extend their long processes between the activated microglia; in some areas, they are closely associated (B1, B2). Astrocytic processes also surround the blood vessel (BV) in B1, B2. The close spatial relation between the activated microglia and reactive astrocytes is not evident away from the border (B3). B1–3 are enlarged view of area 1–3 in A. Scale bar in A: 100 μm; scale bar in B: 50 μm. DAPI, blue