Figure 2

Histopathological alteration of optic nerve at a variety of time intervals in mice infected with A. cantonensis . (A1-E1): HE staining of optic nerve infected with A. cantonensis for 0 d, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d, respectively. On day 14, obvious inflammatory cell infiltration in the adventitia can be seen and the inflammation became more pronounced (black arrows in C1 and D1) on day 21. Inflammatory cell infiltration had decreased by day 28 and the optic nerve appeared to be atrophied compared with the other groups (gray arrow in E1). Scale bar = 40 mm. (A2-E2): Electronic photo of optic nerve infected with A. cantonensis for 0 d, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d, respectively. On day 14, demyelination began to appear (black arrows in C2); on day 21, obvious demyelination and swelling can be observed (black arrows point in D2) and on day 28, an obvious cavity appeared in the myelin sheath (black arrows in E2). Scale bar = 0.5 μm. (F) Data are mean ± SEM of axon number of 0.58 mm² in control, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d, respectively after infection with A. cantonensis s. (H) Data are mean ± SEM of demyelination rates in control, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d, respectively after infection with A. cantonensis. *Statistically significant as compared with control (0 d infection) (P < 0.05); #Statistically significant as compared with infection for 21 d (P < 0.05).