Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Effect of immunization on ERK1/2 phosphorylation in GnRH neurons. Photomicrographs depict GnRH neurons with pERK1/2 immunoreactivity after 6 d of KLH-FITC immunization. Scale bar: 10 µm (A). Histograms show the percentage of ERK1/2- and pERK1/2-immunoreactive GnRH neurons at different time points following KLH-FITC (B1, B2) or dextran-FITC (C1, C2) injections (*p < 0.05, n = 6/group). Antigen-specific serum IgM and IgG levels on day 6 of immunization with KLH-FITC (D1, D2) or dextran-FITC (E1, E2; *p < 0.05 n = 6/group).
- Figure 2.
Effect of KLH-FITC on ERK1/2 phosphorylation in different brain regions. Two representative immunoblots probed for pERK1/2 and ERK1/2 from the STR and the HYP of immunized and vehicle-treated mice (A). Effect of KLH-FITC on the levels of pERK1/2 in different brain areas shown by Western blot analysis (B): quantification of the proportions of pERK1/2 and ERK1/2 in the C, HC, S, T, MS, P, and HYP of control and KLH-FITC-treated animals (*p < 0.05, n = 4/group).
- Figure 3.
The effect of KLH-FITC on lymphocyte brain infiltration in vivo and the role of prostaglandin and IL-10 in KLH-FITC-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in GnRH neuron. Representative flow cytometry dot plots of single-cell suspensions from the whole brain of the control and KLH-FITC-injected mice (n = 4 pooled samples/group; two separate experiments). Quadrants show CD3 single-positive (T cells), B220 single-positive (B cells), CD3-B220 double-negative, and CD3-B220 double-positive cells (A). The histogram shows the percentage of pERK1/2-positive GnRH neurons on day 6 after immunization with KLH-FITC with or without indomethacin treatment (B; n = 4/group). IL-10 levels are elevated in the HYP (C) but not in the spleen (D) of KLH-FITC-immunized mice compared to control mice, as shown by ELISA from the HYP and spleen lysates normalized to 100 pg of protein. Data are shown in pg/ml (*p < 0.05, n = 5/group). The histogram exhibits the percentage of pERK1/2- (E) and ERK-positive GnRH neurons (F) in WT, and IL-10 KO mice, comparing KLH-FITC-injected and control mice (***p < 0.001, n = 5/group).
- Figure 4.
Disrupted estrous cyclicity in IL-10 KO mice. Representative estrous cycle profiles (for individual mice over a five-week period) demonstrating the alterations in estrous cyclicity in WT littermates and IL-10 KO mice (A). The graphs show the number of cycles (B), cycle length (C), and percentage of time spent in the estrus (D) and diestrus (E) stages for WT and IL-10 KO mice. The histograms show the mean + SEM for each group; n = 5, *p < 0.05.
- Figure 5.
Effect of IL-10 on membrane potential and ERK1/2 phosphorylation of GnRH neurons in acute brain slices. Representative voltage traces from female adult GnRH neurons showing membrane hyperpolarization (A1) or depolarization (A2) induced by IL-10. The trace depicts membrane depolarization or hyperpolarization in the presence of TTX (B1, B2). IL-10-induced depolarization in the presence of BM containing AP-5 (20 μM), CNQX (10 μM), picrotoxin (50 μM) with TTX (0.5 μM; C). Effect of IL-10 on pERK1/2 immunopositivity in GnRH neurons with and without BM (D1, D2). Bar graphs show the cumulative percentage of GnRH neurons expressing immunoreactive pERK1/2 in the MS, POA and AH (***p < 0.001, n = 6/group). The confocal images show that GnRH neurons (green) express IL-10RA (red, white arrowheads) in the medial septum of female mice (E). Scale bar: 10 µm.
In this issue
