Fig. 7: Microglial branches and processes lacking mitochondria are more motile. | Nature Communications

Fig. 7: Microglial branches and processes lacking mitochondria are more motile.

From: Mitochondria are absent from microglial processes performing surveillance, chemotaxis, and phagocytic engulfment

Fig. 7

a Manual tracking of microglia processes (cyan lines) and mitochondria (red lines) over 30 min suggests incongruency between the two. An example of a branch that is maintained and one that is lost with mitochondria present in the branch that is maintained. Pie charts showing the percentage of branches that are stable/lost along with the percentage of branches that contained mitochondria at the beginning of the 30 min time-series. The bar chart compares the stability of the processes that had mitochondria compared to the processes of that did not have mitochondria. (n values indicated in the figure, two-sided Fisher’s exact test). b Percentage of microglial process tips that contained mitochondria. White dashed boxes indicate the 5 × 5 μm ROIs that were used to determine the mitochondrial presence in the tips. c Time-series showing microglial process retraction, stability, or extension with corresponding presence or absence of mitochondria. Manual tracking of microglial process tips showing the total distance traveled over 30 min and instantaneous velocity in tips with or without mitochondria. Of the tips that did have mitochondria, the pie chart shows the proportion of tips that were stable or retracting. None of the process tips that contained mitochondria extended during the 30-min time window. The n values are indicated in the figure, unpaired, two-tailed t-test (Welch’s correction applied to the distance traveled graph only); the line is at the mean ± s.e.m for error bars. d Temporal projections from 0 min to 30 min were used to compare microglia cytoplasmic reorganization relative to mitochondrial motility in an entire cell. The number box insets show examples across the 30 min time-series. e Mitochondria to cytoplasmic area fractions in temporal projections (0→30 min) compared to time point 0 min, indicating that mitochondria do not move as much as the cytoplasm. f Mitochondria have a lower change in the area occupied relative to the cytoplasm from 0 min to 30 min. For (e, f), n = 20 cells from 4 mice; paired two-tailed t-tests; the line is at the mean ± s.e.m for error bars. For (c, e, and f) see Supplementary Figs. 3i and 4a, b for analyses by animal; and Supplementary Fig. 6a–c for analyses of sex differences.

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