Fig. 3

VDR ablation in microglia/macrophages intensifies CNS inflammatory milieu after cerebral ischemia. A qRT-PCR analysis of the relative cytokine mRNA levels within the ischemic brain of control and Vdr-cKO mice 3 days after MCAO (n = 6 per group). B, C Western blot analysis and quantification of TNF-α within the ischemic brains of indicated groups. Relative protein levels were quantified by taking controls as 1.0 (n = 5 per group). D, E FACS analysis of IFN-γ expression in brain tissues of control and Vdr-cKO mice (n = 6 per group). F The proportion of individual cellular types among IFN-γ-expressing cells in brain tissues of control and Vdr-cKO mice, as measured by FACS analysis (n = 6 per group). G mRNA expression changes of Tnf-α and Ifn-γ in the ischemic brain of control and Vdr-cKO mice within the first 3 days after MCAO (n = 5 per group). H mRNA expression changes of Il-18 and Il-12 in the ischemic brain of control and Vdr-cKO mice (n = 5 per group). Each symbol represents one mouse. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, Vdr-cKO versus control group by Mann–Whitney test in A, two-tailed Student’s t test in C, E, and two-way ANOVA with Sidak's post hoc test in G, H