FIGURE 1.

Murine N9 microglial cell line expresses NPY and receptors Y₁, Y₂, and Y₅. Shown is RT-PCR detection of amplified products for NPY (236 bp) (A), Y₁R (616 bp) (B), Y₂R (318 bp) (C), and Y₅R (524 bp) (D). Cells were treated with 1 μm NPY and challenged with 100 ng/ml LPS for 24 h. For semiquantitative analysis, results were normalized to β-actin (428 bp), an endogenous control. LPS-stimulated microglia significantly expressed higher levels of Y₁R and NPY cDNA copies. Representative agarose gels for each amplified PCR product are depicted below the respective graph. Data are expressed as mean ± S.E. (error bars) (n = 3) and as a percentage of control (*, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001, using Bonferroni's multiple comparison test).