Figure 6

Qualitative assessment of axonal injury in the CC. Besides the changes in myelination, CM induced axonal injury. Uninfected mice regardless of treatment have healthy myelinated and unmyelinated axons in the CC (A). In the CC in terminally ill CM mice (B, C), several signs of axonal injury were detected including neurofilament aggregates (arrows in B and C), loss of axoplasm (L in B, C), inclusions in the axoplasm (I in B) and disprupted mitochondrial christae (C in B). Unmyelinated axons are heavily affected in terminal CM and if not lost, several unmyelinated axons have dysorganized cytoskeleton (asterisks in B). EPO treatment reduced axonal injury in the CC in both unmyelinated and myelinated axons (D). Inclusions of the axoplasm were seen (I in D). Scale bars correspond to 500 nm in A, B and D and 200 nm in C.