Figure 7.

TNF-α stimulates the activity of microglia and astrocytes in APP/PS1 Tg mice. (A-H) C57BL/6 mice at the age of 3 months old were injected (i.c.v) with TNF-α (2 ng/5 μl). The brains were then collected and sectioned after 24 h (n = 6). (A,C,E,G) The activity of astrocytes and microglia were determined by immunostaining with an anti-Iba-1 or -GFAP antibody. These images are representative of six independent experiments, all with similar results. (B,D) The protein levels of Iba-1 and GFAP were determined by western blots. The total amount of β-actin served as an internal control. (F,H) mRNA and protein levels of PEN2 and NCT were determined by qRT-PCR and western blots, respectively. Total amount of GAPDH and β-actin served as an internal control. The data represent the means ± SE of three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 compared with vehicle-treated controls.