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Fig. 2 | BMC Neurology

Fig. 2

From: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis modifies progenitor neural proliferation in adult classic neurogenic brain niches

Fig. 2

Changes in hippocampal morphology in patients with ALS. a GFAP analysis in the hippocampus of ALS patients and controls; protein levels are significantly higher in ALS. b-c Quantification of the markers PCNA and Ki-67, which are linked to events in proliferative activity in the hippocampus of patients with ALS; these patients show significant decreases for all markers. d Confocal microscope images of the hippocampus in controls and patients with ALS or ALS-FTD. ALS patients show isolated Ki-67–positive cells and increased GFAP marking. e Quantification of the expression of GFAPδ, a protein linked to neurogenic processes in the hippocampus; patients with ALS and ALS-FTD show significantly less expression than controls. f Graph showing markedly lower expression of PSA-NCAM, a protein linked to neuronal migration, in patients with ALS and ALS-FTD compared to controls. g Immunoperoxidase images reveal decreased expression of that marker. GFAPδ cells in patients with ALS were isolated and differed from those observed in controls in that they had fewer processes, a more spherical nucleus (arrow), and were mainly located in the subgranular layer. h Images of PSA-NCAM–positive cells in the hippocampus. Tissue samples from controls contained cells with typical elongated processes extending through the granular layer; the ALS group showed isolated, shorter processes, and no processes were observed in the ALS-FTD group. i Illustration of the typical morphology of the hippocampus in healthy controls and in patients with ALS showing the principal changes we observed: increase in GFAP-positive cells, neuronal loss, and decrease in markers linked to neuronal migration. Graphs show the mean + standard error (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01). Scale bars: D, G, H: 40 μm

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