Figure 7. NK cells regulate depression-like behavior during sepsis-induced neuroinflammation.

Mice with or without depletion of NK cells were treated with LPS or received surgery. (a) mRNA was extracted from the whole brain (n = 4~6 per group) on day 3 and day 4 after LPS treatment and reversely transcribed into cDNA, then qPCR was performed to detect and analyze the expression of serotonin metabolism-associated enzymes and proteins, including tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2), aonoamine oxidase (MAO-A and MAO-B) and serotonin transporter (SERT). (b,c) Four days after LPS treatment or low-grade CLP surgery, sucrose preference test was performed to evaluate the depression-like behavior of mice from different group (n = 8, per group). (a–c) *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, ANOVA. Means ± SD are shown. All data in this figure are representative of at least 2 independent experiments.