Fig. 8

Microglial overexpression of Cathepsin S in sCJD. a Immunohistochemical analysis of Cathepsin S expression in cerebellum of sCJD cases showing microglial localization. b Immunohistochemical staining of sCJD cases in the frontal cortex double-immunostained with Cathepsin S (red) and CD68 (green) left and Cathepsin S (red) and HLA-DR (green) right. Tissues were counterstained with DAPI (blue). c Correlations between the levels of Cathepsin S and glial markers (AIF1 and CD68 for microglia and GFAP for astroglia) in the frontal cortex of sCJD cases. R and p values (Pearson correlation) are indicated. d Expression levels of Cathepsin S in the frontal cortex of several neurodegenerative diseases with known cortical affection by means of qPCR analysis FFI: Fatal Familial Insomnia, PD-LBD: Parkinson Disease-Lewy Body Dementia, AD: Alzheimer’s Disease, Braak Stages I-II and III-IV, PSP: Progressive supranuclear palsy, FTD: Frontotemporal dementia, Pick: Pick’s disease. P values for the comparisons of the disease groups with control cases are indicated in the figure:*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001