Fig. 8

Pan-probiotic (PP) treatment decreases microglial activation and cytokine expression in male mice at 35 days post-TBI. (a) PP treatment significantly reduced microglial density (Iba-1 + cells, red) (*p < 0.05) and activation (**p < 0.01) in male mice compared to vehicle (VH)-treated males at 35 days post-injury (dpi). In females, a modest reduction in microglial activation was observed with PP treatment. (b) The percentage of the area occupied by Iba-1 + cells also exhibit a noteworthy decrease in PP-treated male mice compared to their VH-treated males. There was also a significant increase in PP-treated female mice compared to their male counterparts (c, c1, d1, e1, f1). Representative images depict Iba-1 + cells in the injured cortex of mice treated with VH and PP. Iba-1 + cells colocalizing with TGFβ + cells (g, g1-4), with Arg1 + cells (h, h1-4), and with TNF-α + cells (i, i1-4) did not show any differences after PP treatment at 35 dpi. The data represents n = 8–10 mice per group, and statistical significance was determined using two-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey’s multiple comparison test. (*p < 0.05). n = 7–10 mice/group. mRNA expression in red, microglia/macrophage in green, and nuclei in blue. Scale bars represent 50 μm in c-f and 20 μm in c1, e1, d1, f1, and g1-4, h1-4, i1-4