Age-Related Neurodegeneration and Memory Loss in Down Syndrome
Figure 2
Gliosis in hippocampus of Ts65Dn mice. Brain tissue sections from Ts65Dn mice and age-matched normosomic littermates, showing typical hippocampal morphology of astrocytes, using the glial marker GFAP (a) and (b). The sections were from 12-month-old normosomic (NS, a) or Ts65Dn (TS, b) mice. Note increased number of astrocytes in TS mice, as well as elevated expression of GFAP and an activated morphology, with more branching and thicker branches in the TS compared to NS mouse. (c) Astrocyte branching measurements (GFAP labeling) in the hippocampus reveal increased branching in TS mice compared to NS age-matched controls, a sign of activation following inflammatory or other pathological processes. Astrocytosis is increased with aging in the TS mice to a greater extent than in NS mice. (d) Density of a marker for microglial cells, Cd45, is also increased with age in Ts65Dn (TS) but not in age-matched normosomic (NS) mice, indicating ongoing microglial activation in this brain region. Inset in (b) represent 100 microns. Data were not published previously.
