Fig. 3

Elimination of microglia cells with the CSF1R antagonist PLX5622 attenuated therapeutic effects of ACT001 in mice CCI models. a Overview of experimental timeline for in vivo studies and neurobehavioral tests. Before CCI injury, the mice were provided diets formulated with either vehicle (Veh, AIN-76A chow) or PLX5622 (PLX) for 14 days. b Representative fluorescence images for dual staining of Iba1 and CD68 in peri-contusion region from Sham + Veh and Sham + PLX groups (up panel), TBI + Veh and TBI + PLX groups (middle panel), as well as TBI + Veh + ACT001 and TBI + PLX + ACT001 groups (bottom panel). Cell nuclei were shown in blue (DAPI). Scale bar = 100 μm. c Representative photographs of whole brains in TBI + Control + ACT001, TBI + Veh + ACT001 and TBI + PLX + ACT001 groups at 3 and 7 days post-insult. The circles represented the approximate area of lesion cortex. d–g Line graphs showed four neurobehavioral function assessments at indicated time points including mNNS scores (d), Grid-Walking test (e), Rotarod test (f) and Hanging Wire test (g). n = 8/group. Data were presented as mean ± SEMs, *P < 0.05, versus TBI + Veh + ACT001 group. TBI + Control + ACT001 group was the CCI models fed with normal chow and ACT001. TBI + Veh + ACT001 group was the CCI models fed with AIN-76A and ACT001. TBI + PLX + ACT001 group was the CCI models fed with PLX5622 and ACT001