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. 2021 Sep 17;7(38):eabf2073. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf2073

Fig. 4. Repopulation of microglia reopens a window of sensitivity to immune activation in adult male and female Tsc2+/− mice.

Fig. 4.

(A) Timeline for injections of Poly I:C, treatment with PLX5622 (PLX; depletes microglia) or control chow and behavior approach. (B) Male WT/Poly I:C mice after PLX (n = 5; P < 0.0001, t = 16.16), WT/Poly I:C mice after control chow (n = 8; P < 0.01, t = 1.93), and Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C mice after control chow (n = 9; P < 0.0001, t = 10.24), but not Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C mice after PLX (n = 13; P = 0.06, t = 1.93), show normal social memory. Two-way ANOVA analyses using time spent exploring the novel mouse as the dependent variable revealed a significant treatment × genotype interaction [F(1,31) = 33.55, P < 0.0001], and Sidak post hoc test revealed a simple main effect of genotype on the Poly I:C after PLX group (P < 0.0001, t = 6.24). (C) Female WT/Poly I:C mice after PLX (n = 12; P < 0.001, t = 4.13), WT/Poly I:C mice after control chow (n = 14; P < 0.0001, t = 8.72), and Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C mice after control chow (n = 12; P < 0.0001, t = 7.27), but not Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C mice after PLX (n = 14; P = 0.15, t = 1.47), show normal social memory. Two-way ANOVA analyses using time spent exploring the novel mouse as the dependent variable revealed a main effect of treatment [F(1,48) = 8.45, P = 0.005], and Sidak post hoc test revealed a significant difference between Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C after PLX and Tsc2+/−/Poly I:C after control chow (P < 0.01, t = 3.11). Data represent means ± SEM as well as values for individual mice. Cont., control.