Fig. 6

Transplantation of IL13-producing MSCs results in alternative activation of microglia and macrophages at day 14 after ischemic stroke. a Representative fluorescent microscopic images of ischemic cortical region display the expression of F4/80 on CX₃CR1^eGFP/+ and CCR2^RFP/+ cells, acquired from the three experimental groups at day 14 after stroke. Illustrative ×20 close-up magnification represents the changes in F4/80 expression by microglia and macrophages. F4/80 biomarker is expressed on both cell populations in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the lesion. Immunofluorescence colors: blue, TOPRO; green, microglia; red, macrophages; white, F4/80. b Detailed analysis of the expression of biomarker F4/80 revealed a significant increase of F4/80 expression of CCR2^RFP/+ macrophages upon IL13-MSCs transplantation in comparison to other two control groups. c The corresponding exploded pie charts show the distribution of F4/80 expression by GFP⁺ and RFP⁺ cells in all three experimental groups. In the pie chart, GFP⁺ microglia and RFP⁺ macrophages are encircled in green and red, respectively. n = 5–6 mice in each group. Data represent mean ± SD. The data were compared between the three experimental groups using a parametric one-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni’s post hoc test