Fig. 1

Astrogliosis in post mortem brain tissue of MSA patients. A Representative image of DAB staining of GFAP⁺ astrocytes in precentral gyrus, putamen, and substantia nigra of MSA-P patient (female, 67) and control individual (female, 60) and quantification of GFAP⁺ cells/mm² (4 MSA patients vs. 4 Controls). SN was identified by presence of neuromelanin-containing neurons (white asterisks). Welch’s t-test was used for statistical analysis. Scale bar = 20 µm. All three regions display elevated numbers of GFAP⁺ astrocytes in cortex (p = 0.002), putamen (p = 0.0003), and substantia nigra (p < 0.0001) of MSA patients. CTRL = Control, MSA = multiple system atrophy, SN = substantia nigra. (B, Upper panel) Immunofluorescence staining of four MSA-P patients and three controls. For visualization of astrocytes GFAP was used as a marker (orange). To analyze expression of glutamate reuptake transporter tissue was stained for EAAT2 (green). Scale bar = 50 µm. (B, Lower panel) Overview of single cells expressing GFAP, EAAT2, and GFAP/EAAT2 (yellow, lower panel). Astrocytic GFAP/EAAT2 expression is decreased in the precentral gyrus (p = 0.0571). Moreover, a re-distribution towards the cytoplasm of EAAT2 is observed in astrocytes of MSA patients (Lower right panel)