Fig. 3

Ablation of the Chrna7 gene attenuates A1 astrocyte activation and ameliorates cognitive deficits in gp120tg mice. A The expression of A1-specific genes in the hippocampus from 12-month-old α7^−/− mice and age-matched WT mice. B The mRNA levels of A1-specific genes in 12-month-old gp120tg mice and age-matched α7^−/−gp120tg mice. C The mRNA levels of Il-1α, Il-1β, Il-6, Tnf-α. D The immunoreactivity of GFAP and C3 proteins in the hippocampus (scale bar: 100 μm, n = 5 mice per group, t = 5.449, P = 0.0006). E Representative images of immunohistochemistry staining for p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins on brain sections from the hippocampus subregion of the gp120tg mice and α7^−/−gp120tg mice (scale bar: 100 μm). F–I The gp120tg mice and α7^−/−gp120tg mice were subjected to the Morris water maze test (n = 10 mice per group). The discrepancy in latency (F) and distance (G) in acquisition trails (n = 6 mice per group, F_{1, 12} = 0.7653, P = 0.3989; F_{1, 12} = 5.341, P < 0.0394, respectively). H Search strategies for the removed platform in the retrieval test. I Percentage of time spent in the different zones in the probe trials (F_{1, 12} = 0.5141, P = 0.0.4871). J Characteristic navigation patterns of mice in the open field test (n = 10 mice per group). In A, B, values are shown in the box and whisker plot, where the line in the box corresponds to the median. In C–I, data are presented as mean ± SEM. In A, B, D, P values are analyzed by unpaired Student’s t test (two-tailed). In C, P values are analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons. In F–I, data are analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc tests. ^$P < 0.05, ^$$P < 0.01, ^$$$P < 0.001 compared to WT mice. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 compared to 12-month-old gp120tg mice