Fig. 3

Astrocytosis and microgliosis in the Gde2 KO. a–d Immunostaining for GFAP in WT (a, c) and Gde2 KO (b, d). Dashed yellow lines = boundary between grey and white matter. Scale bar = 100 μm. e 19 month Gde2 null grey and white matter have significantly elevated GFAP area fraction. Graph represents mean ± SEM. 19 month Grey matter *p = 0.002, 19 month White matter *p = 0.013, Student’s t test, n = 3. Example ROI positions are illustrated in panel d. f–q Confocal projections of Iba1⁺ microglia from the ventral horn of WT and Gde2 KO ventral horns. Arrowheads indicate condensed microglial processes and arrows denote multicellular aggregations in the absence of Gde2. Scale bar = 15 μm. n = 3. r–s’ Examples for GFAP⁺ astrocytes and Iba1⁺ microglial processes interacting with the spongiform vacuoles (dashed yellow circles) in the aged Gde2 KO