Figure 6

LPS reduced motor neuron viability through functionally active TLR4 of microglia. Motor neuron/glia cocultures were established by mixing the different neural populations from the spinal cords of WT or TLR4^LPS-del mouse embryos. Cocultures were then exposed to 1 µg/mL LPS, alone or together with 20 µg/mL VB3323, for 24 h. (A) LPS did not affect motor neuron viability when both motor neuron and glial cells came from TLR4^LPS-del mice. (B) LPS significantly reduced viability of TLR4^LPS-del motor neurons in coculture with WT glia. VB3323 prevented the neurotoxic effects of LPS. (C) LPS did not affect the viability of WT motor neurons in cocultures with WT astrocytes and TLR4^LPS-del microglia. Data are mean number ± SD of viable motor neurons normalized against control. Nine wells for each condition were analyzed from three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA and Tukey test.