Fig. 6

Effects of ligature-induced periodontitis on microglia in the hippocampus and cortex. Histopathological analysis of brain sections was performed using immunohistochemistry. The detected regions were illustrated in sagittal section of the brain. Activated microglia (with irregular protrusions) were attenuated by pre-treatment of CTS. Microglia were visualized with Iba1 (a) (red arrows). Quantification of Iba1 levels in the hippocampus and cortex were shown: b Iba1 positive cells in hippocampus (number/field) (F = 15.870, p = 0.0010), c Iba1-positive cells in the cortex (number/field) (F = 26.740, p = 0.0002). The example cells (d) and quantification of microglia were shown: e endpoints in the hippocampus (F = 21.080, p = 0.0004), f process lengths in the hippocampus (F = 7.370, p = 0.0109), g endpoints in the cortex (F = 7.008, p = 0.0125), h process lengths in the cortex (F = 15.020, p = 0.0012), (100× and 400×, bar = 200 μm and 50 μm, respectively). (n = 3 per group, one-way ANOVA, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 compared to the control group; #p < 0.05 and ##p < 0.01 compared to the CP group)