Fig. 6

Intrathecal miR-298-5p and miR-100-5p induce neurodegeneration and microglial accumulation in a TLR7-dependent fashion. C57BL/6 (wild-type, WT) and Tlr7^−/− mice (n = 4 each group) received intrathecal injection of either 10 μg miR-100-5p (a, c), miR-298-5p (b, d), or 10 μg control mutant oligonucleotide (a-d). After 3 d, brain sections were immunolabeled with NeuN or Iba1 antibody, with DAPI, and with TUNEL assay. For comparison, brain sections of naïve WT mice were included in this experimental set-up. Representative images of brain sections labeled with NeuN antibody (upper panel), Iba1 antibody (lower panel), and DAPI are shown. Scale bar, 50 μm; inserts, scale bar, 10 μm. NeuN⁺ (upper panel, left graph), TUNEL⁺ (upper panel, right graph), and Iba1⁺ (lower panel, bottom graph) cells in the cerebral cortex were quantified. Data are shown as mean ± SD. P values for relevant groups as determined using the Student’s t-test are shown. n.s., not significant