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. 2020 Nov 5;14:590500. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2020.590500

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Soft substrates do not impair microglial viability, but affect their morphology. (A) When cultivated for 24 h, microglia showed no signs of increased cell death on PDMS substrates of any elasticity compared to a conventional glass surface, as monitored by the live-dead assay (n = 5). (B) Microglia numbers were not affected by the elasticity of PDMS substrates (n = 5). (C) Representative immunocytochemical images show microglia stained for “ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1” (Iba-1; red) and counterstained for nuclear marker Hoechst 33342 (blue) on conventional glass substrates and (D) PDMS-substrates of 1 kPa, mimicking the elasticity level of the living brain (scale bar = 100 μm). (E) Roundness (see “Materials and Methods” section for definition) of primary microglia decreased with the softness of the substrate (***p < 0.001 as compared to 1.2 MPa; #p < 0.05 as compared with 1 kPa, n = 10). (F) The spread area of microglia expanded on softer substrates (*p < 0.05 as compared to 1.2 MPa; n = 10).