Fig. 6

Injection of bmSC reduced activation of microglia/macrophages. Evaluation of Iba1-IR in spinal cord tissue ten weeks after SCI. a-c Microglia in spinal cord white matter 0.5–0.7 cm anterior of the lesion center. d-f Microglia and macrophages in sections containing the lesion center; representative examples from rats treated with saline (a, d), MP (b, e) and bmSC (c, f). g Microglia in the white matter of an animal without SCI; 20 objective, scale bar 100 μm valid for all photographs. h Quantification of Iba1-IR in the white matter ca. 0.8 cm anterior to and within the area close to the lesion center. Here, Iba1 expression was significantly lower after bmSC treatment compared to control treatment (t-test, * p < 0.5). Data were normalized to Iba1-IR in the white matter of rats without lesion (statistical difference not indicated); bars show means and SEM, n = 5–6 rats/group