Figure 5

HFHS diet changes to hippocampal microglia density and morphology. Mice in the adult cohort had a significantly greater hippocampal IBA-1 fluorescence and adult mice that consumed the HFHS diet had significantly greater IBA-1 fluorescence compared to control diet mice (A,B). Mice that consumed HFHS diet across adolescence had proportionally fewer ramified ‘resting’ microglia and greater activated phenotypes (hypertrophied and amoeboid) in all three hippocampal subregions (C,D). In contrast, no diet-related changes (C,E) in microglia morphology were seen in mice that consumed HFHS diet as adults. Data were assessed using two-way ANOVAs and *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Representative photomicrographs were taken at 40X magnification (green—IBA-1 + microglia), scale bars show 50 μm for IBA-1 + density and 10 μm for microglia morphology.