Figure 4

Shows sections through the L4 dorsal root ganglion at various times after sham (top) and SNI (bottom) surgery at P10 (left and middle) and adult (right). Sections are immunostained with the macrophage marker IBA-1 (red) and the large A cell neuronal population marker NF200 (green). Macrophage activation is observed as macrophages clustering around large neuronal cell bodies in characteristic ‘ring-like’ structures with processes extending from their enlarged cell bodies towards large neurons. SNI surgery at P10 produces non significant macrophage activation after 7 days compared to sham in (P10) rats. However, there is a late onset of macrophage activation at 21 days post surgery which is significantly greater than sham and similar to that seen in adult rats 7 days post surgery. B) Quantification of these activated macrophage ‘ring-like’ structures in the three experimental groups illustrated in A and expressed as a percentage accordingly to large sensory neurons*: (n = 3 animals per experimental group, 3-way ANOVA, p < 0.001, Tukey, p < 0.05).