<p>Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining and immunofluoresent staining for myelin basic protein (MBP) were performed to quantify spared myelin in the chronic phase of SCI. Figures show LFB staining of the spinal cord 4 mm caudal to the epicenter. Higher magnification revealed better myelin integrity in rats from the G-CSF group (D) than the vehicle group (C). The extent of loss of myelin in the chronic phase of injury (six weeks after surgery) was analyzed (Fig. 4–E). Gray matter of each sample was subtracted from the whole area of the slice to reveal the area of white matter. The actual area of normal-appearing myelin was divided by the white matter to determine the percentage of normal-appearing myelin. The percentage of normal appearing myelin was significantly larger in the G-CSF group (E; closed column) than the vehicle group (E; open column). Immunofluorescence showed that the number of MBP-positive myelin sheath was larger in the G-CSF group than that in the vehicle group (L). Bars = 1 mm (F–H), 500 µm (A, B) and 100 µm (C, D, I–K), values are mean±SEM. *p<0.05, **p<0.01. Values are mean±SEM. *p<0.05.</p
