Figure 5. Early DRG blockade via TTX reduced microglia activation caused by spinal nerve ligation in the spinal cord.
In the normal spinal cord, a basal level of OX-42 is expressed in microglia (a & b). Spinal nerve ligation caused a significant increase of OX-42 expression on the side of spinal cord ipsilateral to the nerve injury (d), more so than on the contralateral side (c) on POD 3. Early DRG neuronal blockade via TTX perfusion for the first 3 days after SNL reduced spinal OX-42 expression (e & f) after SNL. The panels on the left and the right side show dorsal horn portions of the spinal cord, the sides contra- and ipsi- lateral to nerve injury, respectively. Scale bar = 50 µm.