Stereological Analysis of Microglia in Aged Male and Female Fischer 344 Rats in Socially Relevant Brain Regions

Neuroscience
Amy E PerkinsTerrence Deak

Abstract

Aging is associated with a substantial decline in the expression of social behavior as well as increased neuroinflammation. Since immune activation and subsequent increased expression of cytokines can suppress social behavior in young rodents, we examined age and sex differences in microglia within brain regions critical to social behavior regulation (PVN, BNST, and MEA) as well as in the hippocampus. Adult (3-month) and aged (18-month) male and female F344 (N = 26, n = 5-8/group) rats were perfused and Iba-1 immunopositive microglia were assessed using unbiased stereology and optical density. For stereology, microglia were classified based on the following criteria: (1) thin ramified processes, (2) thick long processes, (3) stout processes, or (4) round/ameboid shape. Among the structures examined, the highest density of microglia was evident in the BNST and MEA. Aged rats of both sexes displayed increased total number of microglia number exclusively in the MEA. Sex differences also emerged, whereby aged females (but not males) displayed greater total number of microglia in the BNST relative to their young adult counterparts. When morphological features of microglia were assessed, aged rats exhibited increased soma size in the...Continue Reading

Citations

Sep 24, 2019·Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience·Anne-Laure HemonnotHélène Hirbec
Apr 26, 2020·Scientific Reports·Dana GoerzenJamie Near
Feb 11, 2020·Frontiers in Neuroanatomy·Nuria García-MagroCarlos Avendaño
Jul 3, 2020·GeroScience·Prapti H ModyMichael D Burton
Mar 3, 2021·CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics·Junxuan LyuXiaoyan Jiang
May 26, 2021·Journal of Pharmacological Sciences·Charlotte Isabelle DelageMarie-Ève Tremblay
Jun 3, 2021·Cells·Melissa K EdlerJason R Richardson
Sep 23, 2021·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Marcus Augusto-OliveiraAlexei Verkhratsky

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