Fig. 3

Anthocyanins reduced glutamate-induced glial cell activation, neuroinflammation, and DNA damage in hippocampal CA1 region of the developing rat brain. Given are representative immunofluorescence images along with relative IOD histograms of a astrocytes (GFAP)-positive cells and b microglia (Iba-1)-positive cells in the CA1 region of experimental groups. Images represent immunostaining performed with tissue sections prepared from at least five rats in each group. Panels representing hippocampal CA1 region immunostained with GFAP (green), Iba-1(red) counterstained with DAPI (blue) of young rat brain. c The immunoblot represents proinflammatory markers, including p-NF- _k B, COX2 and TNF-α proteins, which are accompanied by their relative density histograms. d The ELISA histogram of NF- _k Bp65 (total) in the brain homogenates of treated animals. The assay was repeated three times according to the manufacturer’s instruction. e The extent of DNA damage in the CA1 region by glutamate was analyzed by conducting TUNEL assay. To quantify DNA damage, ImageJ and Prism GraphPad programs were used. The values represent the mean ± SEM for the indicated proteins (n = 5 animals per group). Significance, ***P < 0.001 and ^## P < 0.01 and ^### P <0.001, respectively