Fig. 3

Cranial irradiation has subtle effects on microglial displacement in the cortex. A Displacement of microglial cells when comparing the baseline imaging session to subsequent timepoints in IR and control mice. The mean nearest neighbor distance did not change between IR and control mice. Histogram of displacement values for microglia comparing the baseline imaging sessions and subsequent timepoints in B control and C Irradiated mice. Comparisons of IR and control mice showed fewer stable microglia (with nearest neighbor distance of < 10 microns at D Day0, E Week 1, but not F Week 4 in IR mice. G Displacement of microglial cells when comparing consecutive imaging sessions in IR and control mice. The mean nearest neighbor distance did not change between IR and control mice. Histogram of displacement values for microglia comparing the baseline imaging session and subsequent timepoints in H control and I Irradiated mice. Notice that in this case, the consecutive comparison of the baseline imaging session to Day 0 is the same as in A–D. J Comparisons of IR and control mice showed fewer microglia with displacement of 10–20 microns between Week 2 and Week 3 only in IR mice. Mixed-effects analysis with Bonferroni’s post-hoc comparisons (A , G) or two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post-hoc comparisons (D–F, J). * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. For panels B, C, H, and I SEMs were < 12%. Each data point represents an individual animal. n = 7–10 mice per timepoint per group for all panels