Fig. 2

Microglial activation in the TBI brain at 24 h post-injury. a Gene expression analysis of microglia activation in the cortex of sham and TBI mice at 24 h post-injury. Microglial receptors (CD11b, P2X7) and pro-inflammatory mediators (NOS2, IL-1β, TNF-α, CCL2, IL-6, and miR-155) were significantly increased in the injured cortex at 24 h post-injury (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 vs sham-injured; Student’s t test; n = 6/group). b Immunofluorescence imaging for P2Y12-positive microglia in the cortex of sham and TBI mice at 24 h post-injury. Following TBI P2Y12-positive microglia transformed from a ramified morphology in sham to activated morphology displaying enlarged cell body, and thicker, and shorter, projections. Representative images taken at −2.06 mm from the bregma. Scale bar = 50 μm. c Morphological analysis of P2Y12-positive microglia using 3D-reconstruction Neurolucida software. When compared to sham-injured controls, P2Y12-positive microglia in the TBI cortex had reduced ramification length (**p < 0.01; Student’s t test) and an enlarged cell body area (**p < 0.01; Student’s t test; n = 6/group). Bars represent mean ± S.E.M.