Figure 1

Experimental design. Fluoro-Gold (FG) injection was performed 2 weeks prior to MOG immunization. a In the early infection group, intraperitoneal injection with E. coli or saline was performed on day (D) seven post immunization followed by antibiotic treatment (AB) for 3 consecutive days. Day 12–17 was the usual time for clinical onset of the disease. Animals were followed until day 8 of EAE or day 21 post immunization in case of clinically healthy animals. b In the late infection group intraperitoneal injection with E. coli or saline was performed in animals on the day of clinical manifestation of EAE. Animals were followed until day 8 of EAE. Tissue was harvested from the optic nerve for histopathological analysis, retinas were flat-mounted for quantification of retinal ganglion cells.