Fig. 1

mRNA induction of pro-inflammatory mediators by extracellular αSYN is reduced in Tlr4 ^−/− primary astrocytes. a Primary astrocyte-rich cultures from littermate Tlr4 ^+/+ and Tlr4 ^−/− mice were treated for 72 h with indicated concentrations of LPS (as positive control) and αSYN, or left untreated (Ø). Total RNA was isolated from the cells and semi-quantitative PCR was performed with primers specific for the indicated gene products. Expression of β-actin mRNA (Actb) was measured as loading control. Images representative for 5–6 independent cultures are shown. b Ethidium bromide stained RT-PCR band signals were quantified with ImageJ software and normalized to Actb. Error bars indicate standard deviation, ^#p < 0.05 compared to untreated samples (ANOVA Fisher’s PLSD), *p < 0.05 compared to Tlr4 ^−/− (Student’s t test)