Fig. 2

Synaptic loss in cervical spinal cord of TDP-43-positive ALS correlates with loss of MN but not with pTDP-43-positive MN. a–d Representative pictures of SC (C3-C4; overview, a with high-magnification insets from laminae I-II (b), lamina VII (c) and lamina IX (d) from healthy control and pTDP-43 + ALS cases with different disease duration and neuropathological stage; immunostaining for Synaptophysin, 50 µm paraffin sections. Scale bar = 500 µm overview, 20 µm inset. e–g synaptic area is unchanged in lamina I-II (3) and lamina VII (f) but shows a very strong trend toward decrease in lamina IX (g). h The synaptic area in lamina IX is directly correlated with the number of surviving MN (r = 0.410; p = 0.026). i No correlation between the fraction of MN displaying pTDP-43 + inclusions and the synaptic area in lamina IX (Pearson´s correlation). Data information: In (e–g), data are presented as means ± SD