Figure 1.

CNS gene expression of central complement components and their association with disease outcomes. Gene expression of C3, C3aR1, and C5 was determined by rt-PCR in spinal cords from TMEV-IDD mice (n = 26) at day ~120 post-infection or rEAE mice (n =20) at day ~15 post-immunization. (A-C) Scatter plots display C3 (A), C3aR1 (B) and C5 (C) in TMEV-IDD or rEAE mice with mean ± SEM for the group. Fold changes were calculated between diseased and age-matched sham mice. Significant differences are indicated by ****(P<0.0001) as determined by Mann-Whitney U-tests. Linear regression analysis shows that high C3 gene expression (Ai, Aii) correlates with a worse disease outcome in TMEV-IDD, but not in rEAE, while C3aR1 (Bi, Bii) relates to a worse disease outcome in both rEAE and TMEV-IDD. Finally, there is no significant correlation between C5 gene expression (Ci, Cii) and clinical outcome neither in TMEV-IDD nor in rEAE. P value and the coefficient of determination R² are indicated in each regression.