Fig. 7.

Activation of YAP signaling promoted 4-AP-induced astrocyte activation and proinflammatory cytokine production. a, b YAP protein expression was examined in the NC, si-YAP, and MOCK groups. (NC: negative control, transfected with scrambled siRNA; MOCK: mock transfection). YAP expression was significantly knocked down by the specific siRNA compared with that in the NC and MOCK groups (n = 3). c Double immunostaining of SOCS3 (red) and GFAP (green) in astrocytes after transfection with YAP-specific siRNA (n = 3). d Western blot showing that knocking down YAP reversed the upregulation of GFAP and p-STAT3 and the downregulation of SOCS3 induced by 4-AP in astrocytes (n = 3). e Western blot showing that knocking down YAP reduced the release of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β) from astrocytes after 4-AP administration (n = 3). f–j Quantitative analysis of the protein and mRNA levels of GFAP (f, g), SOCS3 (h, i), and p-STAT3 (normalized to total STAT3) (j) (n = 3). k, l Quantitative analysis of the mRNA and protein levels of IL-6 (k, l), TNF-α (m, n), and IL-1β (o, p) (n = 3). q Quantitative analysis of the mRNA level of iNOS (n = 3). The data are presented as means ± SEM, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, Tukey’s test after ANOVA