Fig. 2

Ago2 is not involved in LPS-induced astrocyte activation. Direct exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 ng/ml) did not change Ago2 levels (a) or caused cytotoxicity in primary astrocytes (b). LPS-activated primary astrocytes overexpressed GFAP (c) and GDNF (f), measured by western blot, and released TNF-α (e), measured by ELISA. Ago2 silencing decreased Ago2 levels (a) and lowered the basal release of TNF-α (e). No effect was observed on NO (d). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM of the indicated number of repeats and as a percentage relative to untreated controls (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001 compared to untreated controls; one-way ANOVA for all figures; in e, Student’s t test was used for the comparison between CTR and siAgo2). Ago2 argonaute-2, LPS lipopolysaccharide, NO nitric oxide, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor-alpha, GDNF glial-derived neurotrophic factor