Fig. 2

TG2 expression and activity in astrocytes. Primary rat astrocytes were treated for 48 h with medium alone as a control condition (CTRL) (a) or with TNF-α+IL-1β (b). TG2 immunoreactivity (green) was detected in astrocytes (as indicated by arrows in b) which were visualized by the astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, red). Representative images of three independent experiments are shown. Scale bar represents 50 μm. TG activity was examined in protein samples of astrocytes that were treated for 48 h with a range of inflammatory mediators. Subsequent derived astrocyte protein lysates were pre-incubated with a selective inhibitor of TG2 (Z-DON, 1 μM) diluted in 0.001% DMSO or only with DMSO for 30 min at room temperature (c). Each bar represents the mean + standard error of the mean of measurements from three separate experiments that were calculated as average percentage compared to control (**P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001)