Fig. 2

microRNAs are differentially expressed in stressed astrocytes compared to unstressed astrocytes. A Primary human fetal astrocytes were stained for expression of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and DAPI to assess purity of human cultures. Scale bar = 500 µm. B–D Primary human astrocytes were untreated (“U”) or subjected to inflammatory (“I”), metabolic (“M”), and/or hypoxic (“H”) in vitro stress conditions using Interleukin-1 beta (IL1b), glucose-free media, or 1% oxygen, respectively. C Heatmap presenting the RT-qPCR assessment of microRNA expression in stress conditions relative to untreated control. Color code represents log₂(fold change) of miR expression in disease conditions compared to the expression levels in untreated cells. D Plot of miR-210 expression levels measured by RT-qPCR. Each dot represents a separate human donor, with 5–6 donors assayed per condition. One-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison correction was used for significance testing in image D. *p < 0.05