Fig. 8
Whole-transcriptome analysis of maternal VAC and MIA effects on E18.5 cortical gene expression. a The volcano diagram includes 53 upregulated genes (red) and 17 downregulated genes (green) in VAC+LPS compared to PBS+LPS. b Volcano diagram includes 29 upregulated genes (red) and 29 downregulated genes (green) in PBS+LPS compared to PBS+PBS. c Venn diagram represents the overlap of differentially expressed genes among groups; 13 common differentially expressed genes were analyzed (n = 3 mice/group). d Real-time PCR analysis validated common differential gene expression among the four groups (n = 3 mice/group). There was an interaction effect between MIA and VAC (F1,8 = 10.075, p = 0.013) for Ikzf1, and post hoc comparisons showed that MIA increased Ikzf1 expression compared to controls (p = 0.018) and that VAC pretreatment rescued the Ikzf1 expression (p = 0.007). e Most-enriched GO terms for VAC+LPS vs PBS+LPS. The enriched biological processes included neuron differentiation, generation of neurons, and brain development. The protein interaction networks for VAC+LPS vs PBS+LPS (f) and VAC+LPS vs PBS+LPS (g) are shown. The red circles in f and g represent the protein Ikzf1 (Ikaros), which holds core positions in the networks. h–j Images of Ikaros (red) and Cx3Cr1-GFP+ (green) microglia in the VZ/SVZ of the fetal brain. k–o High-magnification images of the colocalization of Ikaros (red) and various morphological forms of microglia (green). k An early branched form. l A more branched form. m–o An amoeboid form. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 (two-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test). The results are all shown as the mean ± s.e.m. Scale bars, 50 μm in h–j, 10 μm in k–o