Fig. 1. Basal expression of pro-inflammatory genes in microglia.
The expression of iNOS (A) and TNFα (B), but not IL-1β (C), was significantly higher in microglia isolated from whole brains of 3-day old mice. On the contrary, IL-6 (D) expression was lowest at P3 compared to other ages. Females had higher expression of TNFα, IL-1β and IL-6 than males at P3. Gene expression in primary microglia was significantly affected by culturing in vitro. Gene expression data are expressed as fold change relative to 3 day-old males. + depicts significant age-dependent differences vs. 3 day-old males. * depicts significant age-dependent differences vs. 3 day-old females. # depicts significant differences between males and females of the same age. Symbol “a” depicts significant difference in gene expression in primary microglia vs. 3 day-old males. The number of symbols corresponds to the following p-values: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001. N.D., not determined.