Fig. 2

Masitinib inhibited microglia proinflammatory phenotype and prevented microglia migration and transformation into aberrant glial cells. a Real-time PCR analysis showed that the treatment with pharmacological concentration (1 μM) of masitinib during 72 h is sufficient to significantly reduce the expression of several genes involved in inflammatory processes. b A confluent monolayer was scratched to determine the migratory capacity of aberrant microglia. After 24 h, cells located between the dashed lines were counted. Vehicle-treated microglia covered most of the scratch after 24 h, while masitinib-treated cells showed significantly less migratory capacity. The inset shows the open space in the monolayer immediately after making the scratch (scale bar 20 μm). The graph to the right shows the quantitative analysis of migration. c Masitinib prevented microglia transformation into aberrant glial cells in a dose-dependent manner when compared with vehicle-treated cultures. Note how after 12 days in vitro, microglia transition to a flat astrocyte-like cell that reach confluence. Masitinib significantly prevented this transformation and few microglia cells transitioned into aberrant glial cells (scale bar 10 μm). The graph to the right represents the quantitative analysis showing the number of aberrant glial cells after 12 days in vitro (12DIV). All data are expressed as mean ± SEM *p < 0.01