Fig. 3

High magnification of lipid bodies in microglial cells following treatment with LPS, DHA, or a combination of LPS and DHA. Few lipid vacuoles (v) displaying irregular contours and frequent membranous contents are observed under control conditions (a). They become more numerous following treatment with LPS (b) and even more following treatment with DHA (c). In the presence of DHA, droplets showing round profiles and uniform lipid contents, often with a dark appearance (asterisk), also accumulate inside of the microglial cells (c). In the combined presence of LPS and DHA, lipid vacuoles become infrequent. Instead, droplets either displaying a clear or a dark appearance, and generally grouped one to another, become the most prevalent from of lipidic inclusion encountered (d). e–i Quantitative analysis of lipid vacuoles and droplets in N9 microglial cells from the four experiments groups. e, g Average number of lipid vacuoles (e) or droplets (g) per N9 microglial cell ± SEM. f, h Average proportion of these lipid vacuoles (f) or droplets (h) found within groups, i.e., in direct apposition with at least another vacuole or droplet, ±SEM. Mixed groups were sometimes observed. i Average size of the lipid vacuoles in N9 microglial cells ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001