Fig. 5

A20 silencing prevents the anti-inflammatory effects of EA after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion. Experiments were performed 24 h after reperfusion in the ischemia/reperfusion cortex, n = 5 per group. a TNF-α and b IL-1β content was measured using ELISA. ^$$$ P < 0.001 vs. the sham group; *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 vs. the MCAO group; ^### P < 0.001 vs. the MCAO + EA group. The relative mRNA levels of c A1 and d GFAP were measured using RT-qPCR. ^$$$ P < 0.001 vs. the sham group; ***P < 0.001, *P < 0.05 vs. the MCAO group; ^### P < 0.001 vs. the MCAO + EA group. The activated morphology of astrocytes and microglia was demonstrated using e GFAP and f Iba-1 immunofluorescence staining (green), respectively. Yellow arrows indicate reactive astrocytes with thick cell bodies, and red arrows indicate hypertrophied activated microglia, noted by their stout, dense appearance with shorter and thicker branched projections. Scale bar = 50 μm