Fig. 5

SPT-2101 protects the stria vascularis following LPS challenge. (A) Paraffin midmodiolar cochlear sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin. Representative image (a) showing the apical, middle and basal cochlear turns, the scala vestibuli (SV), tympanic (ST) and media (SM), and the stria vascularis (Stv) in each turn. Detail of the StV in the apical (b-d), middle (e-g) and basal (h-j) regions of control (white), LPS (red) and LPS plus SPT (green) rats, 72 h after challenge, and quantification of the strial area (outlined in b) (mean ± SEM; n ≥ 3 rats per group, 10 measures per rat and region) in the right column. Paired comparisons were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney test (*p < 0.05, compared to control). Scale bar: 50 (a) and 10 (b-j) µm. (B) Representative confocal maximum projections of strial whole mounts showing capillaries (labeled with GS-IB4, in red) and pericytes branching (labeled with desmin, in green) in control, LPS and LPS plus SPT rats, 72 h after LPS injection. Scale bar: 25 μm. (C) Desmin coverage of strial capillaries (%) assessed by desmin/GSIB4 co-localization. Values are presented as mean ± SE (n = 4 rats per group). (D) Expression level of tight-junction genes (Tjp1, Cdh5 and Marveld2) and Serpinf1 72 h after LPS challenge, calculated as 2^–ΔΔCt (RQ, mean ± SE, n ≥ 5 rats per group), using Tbp as the reference gene and normalized to control rats. Statistical significance was analyzed by one-way ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001, compared to control; ###p < 0.001, compared to LPS).