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Figure 1 | Fluids and Barriers of the CNS

Figure 1

From: Organotypic brain slices: a model to study the neurovascular unit micro-environment in epilepsies

Figure 1

Blood vessel responses to seizure-like activity in organotypic hippocampal culture. (A) Schematic diagram of a blood vessel during the angiogenic process. Angiogenesis is the formation of a new blood capillary from the existing one. The branch point is essential for the guidance and the creation of new blood vessels. (B) For the point-counting method, blood vessels are stained with laminin, a specific marker of basal membrane (green). A grid is placed on the picture and the number of crossings of one vessel on the grid is counted. Therefore, the vascular density evaluation takes into account the length, tortuosity and diameter of blood vessels. For organotypic cultures, the vascular density is calculated per mm2. Scale Bar: 400 μm. (C) For the branch counting method, all branch points (circles) are manually counted. Scale bar: 50 μm. (D) Photomicrographs of laminin expression (green) in control slices and in slices 24 h post-treatment with kainate, LPS, bicuculline or VEGF. Scale bar: 400 μm. The vascular density increased in all conditions compared to control slices. (E) Quantification of vascular density. Results are expressed in % of control. ** p<0.01 (F) Quantification of branching 24 hours after seizures induced by kainate or bicuculline. The increases in branching are significant at 24 h post seizure,* p<0.05, ** p<0.01.

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