Fig. 8

Immunostaining against TH in the substantia nigra of the rats receiving saline (a, d, g), PD rats receiving saline (b, e, h) or PD rats receiving USPIO-PAA/PEG NPs-labeled HADSCs (c, f, i). The area in the dashed frame indicates the compact area of substantia nigra (SNc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Images in the boxes of d, e, f are enlarged and shown in g, h, i, respectively. There are less TH-expressing cells in the SNc and VTA regions in the rats receiving 6-OHDA injection, as compared to the controls receiving saline. Following by HADSC transplantation, more of TH-expressing cells in the SNc of PD rats could be observed. The bar represents 100 μm