Fig. 8

Immunostaining and stereological quantification for M1 polarization markers in hippocampus at 30 days post-TBI. a Micrograph at ×4 magnification showing Marco staining at 30 days post-TBI in the dentate gyrus of CX3CR1 WT-TBI and CX3CR1 KO-TBI mice. b Higher magnification (×20) of the dentate gyrus of CX3CR1 WT-TBI and CX3CR1 KO-TBI showing in the hippocampus show a strong increase in staining in the CX3CR1 KO-TBI compared to CX3CR1 WT-TBI at 30 days. c Unbiased stereology quantification of Marco revealed a significant increase in the number of Marco⁺ cells in the hippocampus of CX3CR1 KO-TBI compared to CX3CR1 WT-TBI (p < 0.001). d Micrograph at ×20 magnification of the dentate gyrus of CX3CR1 WT-TBI and CX3CR1 KO-TBI showing in the hippocampus show a strong increase in CD68 staining in the CX3CR1 KO-TBI compared to CX3CR1 WT-TBI at 30 days post-TBI. e Time course of CD68 expression at 15 and 30 days post-injury. Stereological quantification of CD68⁺ cells revealed a significant decrease in CX3CR1 KO-TBI mice compared to CX3CR1 WT-TBI at 15 days post-TBI. Although the difference did not reach statistical significance, at 30 days post-TBI, expression of CD68 was higher in CX3CR1 KO-TBI mice compared to wild-type (**p < 0.001)