Figure 3

Circumscribed blood brain barrier (BBB) leakage and astroglial activation in the deep cortical region (DCR) of SHR. (A) shows representative micrographs of whole hemispheres stained with Evans blue (EB, red) and FITC-lectin (green). Note the increased EB extravasation in the DCR adjacent to the corpus callosum (CC) in SHR. Quantification of BBB permeability by the EB method revealed no strain-dependent differences when comparing entire hemispheres (B). However, the percent EB positive area was significantly increased in the DCR of SHR (B). Astrogliosis was determined by immunofluorescence staining of GFAP (red) (C). Compared to WKY, the GFAP-positive volume in the DCR of SHR was significantly enhanced. Data are mean ± SD. *p < 0.05 by t-test for n = 3 (B) or n = 4 animals/group (C), scale bar: 1 mm (A), 20 μm (C).