Figure 2

Neonatal microglia demonstrate a reduced classical phenotype when treated with anti-CD36 antibody. (a–v) Immunostaining of neonatal brain sections with classical and alternative microglia phenotypic markers (a–r), with astrocyte marker GFAP (s,t) and IB4 (u,v). (w) Area of the cortical section analysed and quantification of CD68, MHC II, GFAP and IB4 expression (x). Microglial cells (Iba1 +) show increased expression of the classical activation markers CD86 (a–f) and MHCII (g–l) after systemic LPS injection (x). Their expression is significantly diminished when the pups are pre-treated with anti-CD36 antibody (d–f and j–l). Quantification of the signals in arbitrary units shows an overall decrease in expression of the classical markers when the pups are injected with anti-CD36 before the LPS treatment (x). Microglia in both the groups did not express the alternative microglial activation marker CD206 (m–r). No significant decrease was observed with the astrocytic marker GFAP in LPS and anti-CD36 + LPS treated pups (s,t,x). A non-significant decrease in the expression of IB4 is observed in the anti-CD36 + LPS pups when compared to the LPS treated pups (u,v,x). Scale bar is 100 µm. Unpaired t test with Welch's correction ***p ≤ 0.001; **p ≤ 0.01.