Fig. 8

Autophagy deficiency at weaning period impairs synaptic pruning by microglia. A Schematic illustration of synaptic pruning by microglia. B, C 3-MA treatment at PND 21 had no significant effects on the protein expression of PSD95, SYN and Iba1. D The content of protein Iba1 in synaptic fraction was significantly reduced in the brain of 3-MA rats. E Quantitative analysis of Iba1 in synaptic fraction. F The number of PSD95-positive puncta per microglia was significantly reduced in the rats of 3-MA, as indicated by white arrows and analysis. Scale bar = 10 μm. n = 20 cells for each group. *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001. Data are presented as mean ± SEM