Figure 2

In depth microglia/macrophage activation was determined by cellular counts of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1)-stained cells in the brains of male and female sham and ME rats. (A) IBA1 cell counts were estimated in the hippocampus of male and female sham and ME rats and compared with a 2-way ANOVA. Analysis revealed a main effect of surgery such that ME procedures increased the number of activated microglial cells independent of sex. (B) In contrast, staining in the amygdala revealed an effect of sex, with females having fewer overall IBA1+ cells as compared to males (P <0.05). (C) A priori t-test of the estimated cell counts in the caudate nucleus showed and increased number of stained cells (P <0.05); through higher at baseline, males showed no effect of ME. (D) Morphological assessment of IBA1+ cells in the hippocampus illustrated increased branching and a hyper-ramified state in both male and female ME rats compared to sex-matched sham animals (P <0.05). Representative cells for male and female sham (E) and ME rats (F) are shown. For all, error bars represent standard error of the mean (SEM) and *indicates P <0.05.