Figure 8.

Polystyrene microplastics exacerbate HFD-induced hypothalamic inflammation. (A) Representative images and higher magnification inset of the hypothalamus of mice. Hypothalamic sections were immunostained with GFAP or Iba-1 antibodies. The arcuate nucleus (ARC) area (arrow, inset box) and the third ventricle (3V) are indicated. The box area in ARC was enlarged to view the cellular morphology (Enlarge). (B) Number of GFAP-positive activated astrocytes and (C) Iba-1-positive activated microglia in the ARC. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 5). ^# p < 0.05, ^## p < 0.01, and ^### p < 0.001 vs. NC, and * p < 0.05 vs. HFD-control. NC, normal chow; Control, HFD-control; MPs, HFD plus fPS-MPs 0.125 µg/mouse per day.