Fig. 6

MCC950 inhibits astrocyte activation in a transgenic mouse model (R6/2) of HD. Mice were treated daily with MCC950 (10 mg/kg body weight; oral administration) or water for 5 weeks from the age of 7 weeks. A Brain sections of 12-week-old mice were stained against GFAP. The number of astrocytes (identified by the expression of GFAP; red) in the striatum of the indicated mice (water-treated WT mice [n = 6], water-treated R6/2 mice [n = 6], MCC950-treated WT mice [n = 6], and MCC950-treated R6/2 mice [n = 6]) were quantified. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). The histograms show the integrated intensity of striatal astrocytes (B). At least 500 cells from each animal were counted. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Scale bars, 20 μm. *P < 0.05, between WT and R6/2 mice; ^#P < 0.05 vs. water-treated R6/2 mice. C Striatal levels of TNF were measured using ELISA (n = 3–6 for each condition). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, between WT and R6/2 mice; ^#P < 0.05 vs. water-treated R6/2 mice. D–E Striatal lysates were analyzed using Western blot analysis. The molecular mass is indicated in kilodaltons. Results were normalized to those of actin. *P < 0.05, between WT and R6/2 mice; ^#P < 0.05 vs. water-treated R6/2 mice