Figure 2

Increased expression of FGF-2 is time correlated with increased Schwann cell proliferation in the sciatic nerve after lesion and BMMC treatment. A-E: Optical sections of sciatic nerve by confocal microscopy taken 10 days after total transection immunolabeled for FGF-2 and treated with PBS (A, proximal stump and B, distal stump) or with BMMC (C, proximal stump and D, distal stump). An intact nerve is showed in E. Cell nuclei were counterstained with TO-PRO. F: Histogram of FGF-2 expression in sciatic nerve tissue comparing different experimental groups. Statistics: p < 0.0001 ANOVA. G-M: Optical sections of sciatic nerve by confocal microscopy taken 10 days after total transection double immunolabeled for KI-67 (red) and GFAP (green) treated with PBS (G, proximal stump and J, distal stump), with BMMC (H, proximal stump and K, distal stump) or BMMC + neutralizing antibody for FGF-2 (I, proximal stump and L, distal stump) delivered by osmotic mini-pumps. Uninjured nerve is showed in M. N: Histogram of the number of KI-67+ SCs in the nerve tissue under the different experimental conditions. Statistics: p < 0.001 ANOVA. Scale bar: A-E; G-M = 50 μm.