Fig. 2

Representative flow cytometry scatter plots of infiltrating CD11b+ leukocytes and microglia expressing caspase-1 activity from the ipsilateral cortex of a sham, b PBBI injured (vehicle), and c PBBI treated with anti-ASC. d Quantification of the number of “resting” microglia, activated microglia, and infiltrating CD11b+ leukocytes 48 h after PBBI. Forty-eight hours after injury, PBBI significantly increased the number of activated microglia and infiltrating CD11b+ leukocytes expressing caspase-1 activity. Treatment with an antibody inhibiting ASC significantly decreased the amount of caspase-1 activity in both activated microglia and infiltrating CD11b+ leukocytes. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. Statistical significance was determined with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. n = 5 per group