Figure 2From: Temporomandibular joint inflammation activates glial and immune cells in both the trigeminal ganglia and in the spinal trigeminal nucleus GFAP immunoreactivity is increased in SGCs following induction of TMJ inflammation. (A, B) Few GFAP+ SGCs (red) encircling NeuN+ neurons (green) were detected in the contralateral (CONTRA) TG of CFA-injected rats, or in TGs from saline-injected rats (see below). A significant increase in the number of GFAP-encircled neurons was instead observed in the ipsilateral (IPSI) TG starting at 24 h post CFA injection (A', B'). Nuclei were labeled with the Hoechst 33258 dye (blue). Scale bars: 20 μm. (C-E) The number of GFAP-encircled neurons was increased in all 3 divisions (V1-ophthalmic, V2-maxillary, V3-mandibular) of ipsilateral (ipsi) TG. Similar, although smaller, changes were observed at 72 h p.i. Since no significant differences between saline-injected rats at 24 h and 72 h have been observed, data have been pooled together, and shown here as "saline". Data are expressed as number of GFAP-encircled neurons per counting field at 40x magnification, and refer to 2 independent experiments. *** p < 0.001 and * p < 0.05 compared to the contralateral side; one-way ANOVA.Back to article page