Figure 11

Aberrant CGRP⁺ c-fiber sprouting into lamina III of GDA^CNTF- or GRP-transplanted spinal cords that have received dorsolateral funiculus transection injuries. The density of pixels within images of lamina III of the right-side dorsal horn caudal to the injury and transplantation site in GDA- or GRP-transplanted, or injury-only control animals is presented as the average percentage of CGRP⁺ pixels per total pixels (area) of lamina III. (a) Averages of 5.7% and 6.2% of the total pixels in lamina III were CGRP⁺ in GDA^CNTF- and GRP-transplanted spinal cords, respectively. In contrast, only 2.2% and 3.4% of lamina III pixels were CGRP⁺ in GDA^BMP-transplanted and injury-only spinal cords. The asterisk indicates significant difference from both control injury-only and GDA^BMP-transplanted groups (two-way repeated measures ANOVA, p < 0.05). Error bars represent 1 SD. (b-e) Sample images of sections labeled with anti-CGRP antibodies from rats transplanted at the spinal C6 level: (b) control, (c) GDA^BMP, (d) GDA^CNTF and (e) GRP. Area enclosed with a dashed line in (b-e) indicates lamina III. Note the increased density of CGRP⁺ immunoreactivity within lamina III of the dorsal horn of (d) GDA^CNTF- and (e) GRP-treated spinal cords compared to (b) control injured and (e) GDA^BMP-treated spinal cords. Scale bar 200 μm.