Figure 3.

The changes to the mitochondrial network in microglial cells induced by inflammasome activators are attenuated by Parkin and PINK1 deficiencies. (a and b) 3‐MA (3‐methyladenine) treatment of WT microglia mimics the effect of Parkin loss on the release of IL‐1β (a) and IL‐18 (b). (c) Confocal imaging, illustrating the mitochondrial network stained for the mitochondrial outer membrane protein TOM20, in WT, Park2^−/− and Pink1^−/− microglial cells, after treatment with LPS and nigericin. (d–f) Arrayscan quantification of mitochondrial spot number (d), size (e), and mitochondrial surface area (f), showing mitochondrial fragmentation and loss in WT microglia exposed to LPS and nigericin. These changes are not observed in Park2^−/− and Pink1^−/− cells or following treatment with 3‐MA. n is the number of independent experiments. The error bars indicate the ±SEM. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. # versus corresponding untreated control (UT) unless otherwise indicated. Scale bars: 10 µm