Fig. 5

rTMS inhibited astrocytic secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators to alleviated neuronal death. Normal neurons and post-OGD neurons were co-cultured with the astrocytes culture medium (ACM) collected from indicated groups for 48 h. TUNEL staining was used to detect the apoptosis of neurons (a) and neurons exposed to OGD/R injury (b), with scale bar of 20 μm. Images were representative of three independent experiments. c The statistical results of TUNEL showed that O/R + rTMS ACM group induced less apoptosis than the O/R ACM group in normal neurons (P < 0.001) and post-OGD neurons (P < 0.01). d  Concentration of TNF-α and IL-10 in the ctrl ACM, O/R ACM, and O/R + rTMS ACM were detected by ELISA kits. O/R significantly induced TNF-α (P < 0.05) but reduced IL-10 secretion (P < 0.01), while TMS inhibited TNF-α (P < 0.05) but promoted IL-10 secretion (P < 0.001). n = 6 per group. Data are represented as mean ± SD; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 vs. ctrl ACM group. ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001 vs. O/R ACM group. O/R oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation