Fig. 2

Hcy raised the MCAO-induced expression of Iba1 and OX-42 in the ipsilateral ischemic hemisphere. a, b Immunofluorescence analysis of Iba1 and OX-42 (two microglia markers) 24 h following MCAO injury. Representative images of Iba1 (red) and OX-42 (red) staining in DG area of the hippocampus and the cerebral ischemic cortex. Nuclei are stained with 4, 6-diaminido-2-phenylindole (DAPI, blue). Overlays demonstrate the colocalization of Iba1 (or OX-42) and DAPI. Each right-hand column depicts a magnified image of the rectangular region of the corresponding image in the left column. Bar = 50 μm. c, d Quantification of Iba1-positive cells in the post-ischemic hippocampus and cerebral cortex. e, f Quantification of OX-42-positive cells in the post-ischemic hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. Six rats in each group and 10 fields for each rat were examined. g The expression of Iba1or OX-42 was detected by Western blot. Representative Western blot showing the activation of microglia in the ipsilateral ischemic hemisphere extracts using an Iba-1(or OX-42) antibody. h The levels of Iba1 and OX-42 proteins were quantified and normalized to ß-actin levels. The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 5 each group). ^a p < 0.05 vs. the SHAM group, ^b p < 0.05 vs. the MCAO group