Fig. 9

CD163+ macrophages and neighboring vessels express VEGF in human ischemic stroke. VEGF around the vessels and in surrounding CD163⁺ macrophages in human ischemic stroke. Immunofluorescence staining of post-mortem brain tissue of patients deceased 24 h after ischemic stroke (n = 3). Confocal microscope images show CD163⁺ macrophages (red in a-c, green in d-e), vascular endothelium (von Willebrand factor, vWF; blue), and cell nuclei (white) that are stained with DAPI. The presence of VEGF immunoreactivity (green in a-c, red in d-e) is observed surrounding the endothelial layer of blood vessels and in CD163⁺ macrophages. Images in c and e are magnifications of the indicated part of b and d, respectively. Orthogonal projections show co-localization of VEGF and CD163 staining in some cells. The arrows point to CD163⁺ perivascular macrophages positive for VEGF. Scale bar: 10 μm