Fig. 5

Hydrogels overexpressing NPS-EMSCs promote axon growth and inhibit astrocyte activity. (a) NF200 immunofluorescence staining shows the profile of spinal cord segments in each group. NF200-positive axons (green) significantly extend into the rostral 1, injured 2, and caudal 3 regions near the injured site, clearly showing the distribution of the axons, indicating that NPS-EMSCs promote the extension of NF200-positive axons to the injured site. Scale bar = 500 μm. Higher magnification in the middle box area shows superimposed images of NF200- and DAPI-marked objects; scale bar = 50 μm(n = 3). (b) Schematic diagram of GFAP (green) immunofluorescence staining results; scale bar = 500 μm. The digital area shows an overlay image of GFAP- and DAPI-labeled objects at higher magnification. (c) Statistical plot of the mean NF200 fluorescence intensity. (d) Western blot analysis of NF200 and GFAP expression at the injury site (n = 6);. (e, f) Statistical plot of the results of the Western blot analysis of NF200 and GFAP. * P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ns: no significant difference