Skip to main content
. 2021 Oct 22;16(10):e0258977. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258977

Fig 4. Gene-specific real-time RT-PCR of immune-related genes in the cochleae of 6–7-week-old (young control) and 3-month-old (3M), 6-month-old (6M), 9-month-old (9M), and 12-month-old (12M) mice.

Fig 4

Gene expression levels are analyzed for the nine inflammatory and immune-related genes—Casp1, IL18r1, IL18rap, IL1B, Card9, Clec4e, Ifit1, Ifit3, and Tlr9—at each age of the mice cochleae. The expressions of the major proinflammatory molecules IL1B and IL18rap are upregulated by 3M and 6M, respectively, and thereafter during the aging process as compared with the levels in the young control cochleae. Ifit3 is also upregulated by 3M and thereafter. The expressions of seven of the nine immune-related genes (except for IL18rap and Ifit3) show significant upregulation between the ages of 9M and 12M (n = 6 for each time point, P<0.01 by analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post-hoc test).