Fig. 4: Microglial morphology in Chd8-imKO mice.

Microglial morphology was assessed in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male and female Chd8-imKO mice. a Representative pictures of IBA-1 positive cells in imKO and wt mice in male and female PFC. b Representative pictures of IBA-1 positive cells in imKO and wt mice in male and female hippocampus. c Microglia number (IBA-1+ cells) in hippocampus of male mice (**p = 0.0070, t = 2.868, df = 34, n = wt-17 imKO-19 two-way student’s t test) d IBA-1 positive cells in PFC of male mice (***p = 0.0007, t = 4.128, df = 17, n = wt-11 imKO-8, two-way student’s t test). e Sholl analysis (two-way ANOVA, genotype effect, ****p < 0.0001, F(1, 3212) = 144.1) and f dendrite length of microglial cells in the PFC indicates a reduction in cell complexity (***p = 0.0001, t = 3.990, df = 95, two-way student’s t-test). g IBA-1+ cells in hippocampus of female mice (n = 15 wild type, 15 imKO). h IBA-1+ cells in PFC of female mice (n = 11 wild type, 15 imKO). i Sholl analysis in the PFC of female mice j Measurement of microglial dendrite length in the PFC of female mice. Representative Tracking of microglia processes in k–m WT, male imKO, and female imKO mice using Imaris. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.