Figure 6

Lack of C/EBPβ in activated microglia completely abolishes the neurotoxic effects of activated microglia in neuronal-microglial co-cultures. A. MAP2 immunostaining of wild-type neurons co-cultured with C/EBPβ^+/+ or C/EBPβ^-/- microglia was performed 48 h after LPS+IFNγ treatment. MAP2 staining shows a clear decrease of network fibres caused by activated C/EBPβ^+/+ microglia, but not by C/EBPβ^-/- microglia or by vehicle-treated microglia. Images are representative of 5 independent experiments. (Bar = 100 μm). B. Evaluation of neuronal viability by MAP2/ABTS/ELISA assay 48 h after treatment with LPS+IFNγ or vehicle (control). Results are presented as % of MAP2 immunostaining in control cultures. Treatment with LPS+IFNγ reduces MAP2 immunostaining in neurons cocultured with C/EBPβ^+/+ microglia, but not with C/EBPβ^-/- microglia. Two-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni's test was applied. ^##p < 0.01 compared with C/EBPβ^+/+ control; *p < 0.05 compared to C/EBPβ^+/+ LPS+IFNγ. (n = 5).