Fig. 8

The targeted cells by the Zfp-GFP lentivirus. a Experimental design. SCI, spinal cord injury; IHF, immunohistofluorescence; W, Weeks. b GFP expression indicates transduced cells in the longitudinal sections of the spinal cord. Reactive astrocytes (AST) were stained using the glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap) antibody. The cavity in the injured site is outlined. Representative images showing GFP⁺ and Gfap⁺ cells in the spinal cord. Note that most of the GFP⁺ cells are detected around the glial scar in the site of injury (Gfap⁺ cells). c Higher magnification of insert in b. d Immunohistofluorescence analysis for GFP⁺ cells. Immunostaining was performed for Gfap (astrocytes), O4 (oligodendrocytes), CD86 (microglia), NeuN (neurons), Nestin (neural stem cells [NSCs]) and Dcx (neuroblast and immature neurons). e Quantification of protein markers revealed by immunostaining in d. Note that most of the GFP⁺ cells are Gfap⁺ (83.3%, reactive astrocytes). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Mean is shown for n = 3 animals. The number of counted cells is presented in Additional file 4: Table S3