Alterations of gene expression in infiltrating microglia/macrophages and intracranial gliomas are modulated by CsA.

A. Gene expression in magnetically sorted CD11b⁺ cells from tumor-bearing and naïve brains was determined by qPCR. Expression of five genes was significantly altered in CD11b⁺ cells: arg-1 (p = 0.000003); cxcl14 (p = 0.0001); ifn-β1 (p = 0.0002); cox-2 (p = 0.000002); mt1-mmp (p = 0.00002); n = 5 animals per group; ^*p<0.05, ^**p<0.01. The middle line represents the median value. Lower ΔC_T are consistent with higher gene expression. B. Quantification of arginase activity in brain tissue extracts from naïve and tumor-bearing mice treated either with PBS or CsA. Results represent the mean ± SEM of 4–5 mice; ^*p<0.05, tumor-bearing versus tumor-free hemispheres; ^#p<0.05, CsA (10 mg/kg, 8th) versus PBS-treated, tumor-bearing mice. C. MMP-2 activity in proteins extracts from the brains of naïve (N1–5) and tumor-bearing mice (T1–5) determined by gel zymography. Active MMP-2 detected as a prominent band at 62 kDa. D. Quantification of MMP-2 activity using the cleavage of fluorescent DQ-gelatin substrate; means ± SEM of 4–6 mice; ^**p<0.01, tumor-bearing versus naïve brain extracts; ^###p<0.001, ^#p<0.05, CsA- versus PBS-treated tumor-bearing mice.