Fig. 3

P2RY12-deflicient female microglia show pronounced de-ramification. A, B Representative three-dimensional reconstructions (surface and filament) of adult male and female microglia using Imaris are shown, highlighting detailed structural differences. Scale bar: 5 µm. C–E Utilizes Sholl analysis to compare microglia complexity in the cortex (frontal cortex-layer 5), hippocampal CA1, and dorsal striatum illustrating sex and regional variations in microglial morphology. F–H Demonstrate significant reductions in total microglia process length per cell in P2RY12-deflicent microglia across difference brain regions and sex, with emphasis on varied impact in females and males. Data were analysed by using 2-way ANOVA, with results expressed as mean ± SEM. Shading in panel C-E represent SEM.Tukey's multiple comparisons test was utilized for post hoc analysis. Data points are 6–12 intact microglia per brain region, derived from 2 to 3 mice per group. Significance levels: *p denotes p < 0.05, **p denotes p < 0.01 ***p denotes p < 0.001 ****p denotes p < 0.0001