Figure 4.

Effect of PGE₂ EP2 receptor deletion on microglial activation after ICH. Seventy-two hours after ICH, WT and EP2^−/− mice were sacrificed and brains processed for Iba1 immunohistochemistry to evaluate cortical and striatal microglial activation and morphological changes. (a and b) Representative high magnification images of coronal brain sections showing the ipsilateral and contralateral (a) cortex and (b) striatum for WT (left panels) and EP2^−/− mice (right panels). Square selections in the inserts denote magnified regions. Cortical and striatal images are from the same WT and EP2^−/− animals. (c and d) Quantification of brown positive pixel count demonstrated that EP2^−/− mice had significantly less (c) cortical and (d) striatal Iba1 immunoreactivity. This reduced microglial activation was accompanied by less morphological changes. All data are normalized to the corresponding contralateral equivalent areas. Comparisons included n = 7 WT and n = 10 EP2^−/− mice, *p < .05. PGE₂ = prostaglandin E₂; EP2 = E prostanoid receptor subtype 2; ICH = intracerebral hemorrhage; WT = wildtype; Iba1 = Ionized calcium-binding adapter protein.