Fig. 5

Antibody-secreting cells reside in a supportive microenvironment inflamed mouse CNS during the second peak of EAE. Mice were immunized and boosted (day 28) with rhMOG. Analysis of the spinal cords was performed during the peak after boost. a The boundaries of the meninges and the parenchyma are visualized after staining with anti-GFAP (red) and anti-laminin (right, blue) antibodies to determine the relative localization of plasma cells (κ, green) in the inflamed CNS of EAE mice. Representative images of three mice of two independent experiments are shown. Scale bars represent 50 μm. b Representative confocal microscopy image of inflamed spinal cord are shown. Antibody-secreting cells (κ, green) are located in the subarachnoid space in the meninges in the proximity of B220⁺ B cells (red). c Representative confocal microscopy images of inflamed spinal cord of EAE mice are shown after IgA, IgG and IgM (red) isotype staining of antibody-secreting cells (κ/λ, green). Six mice from three independent experiments were analyzed. Scale bars represent 20 μm. d The graph demonstrates the frequency of IgM⁺ or class-switched plasma cells in spinal cord at peak after boost. 51 to 209 antibody-secreting cells each of six mice pooled from three independent experiments were counted und analyzed manually. Bars indicate mean, each data point represents one individual mouse