Figure 3. Microglial morphology and number are significantly affected by sex at postnatal day (P) 0, the day of birth, in select brain regions.
At P0, analysis of microglial morphology revealed a significant effect of morphology within all brain regions analyzed. Specifically, all regions analyzed had significantly more amoeboid microglia and microglia with stout processes than microglia with thicker or thinner processes. Within the CA3 of the hippocampus and the amygdala, analysis revealed a significant interaction of sex and microglial morphology (within-subjects ANOVA, p < 0.05; n = 4 rats/group). Specifically, females had significantly more amoeboid microglia and microglia with stout processes than males at this time within these two brain regions (post hoc, *p < 0.05 in females v. the same cell type in males). Data represent the mean ± SEM of all Iba1+ cells in each morphological category across all sections analyzed.