Many studies have demonstrated significant mouse-strain-specific differences in behavior and response to pathogenic and pharmacological agents. This study seeks to characterize possible differences in microglia activation and overall severity of neuroinflammation in two widely used mouse strains, C57BL/6NTac (Bl6) and 129S6/SvEvTac (129Sv), in response to acute lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration. Locomotor activity within the open field arena revealed similar 24 h motor activity decline in both strains. Both strains also exhibited significant bodyweight loss due to LPS treatment, although it was more severe in the Bl6 strain. Furthermore, LPS induced a hypothermic response in Bl6 mice, which was not seen in 129Sv. We found that 24 h LPS challenge significantly increased the inflammatory status of microglia in 129Sv mice. On the other hand, we observed that, under physiological conditions, microglia of Bl6 seemed to be in a higher immune-alert state. Gene and protein expression analysis revealed that LPS induces a significantly stronger upregulation of MHC-I-pathway-related components in the brain of Bl6 compared to 129Sv mice. The most striking difference was detected in the olfactory bulb, where we observed significant LPS-induced upregulation of MHC-I pathway components in Bl6 mice, whereas no alterations were observed in 129Sv. We observed significant positive correlations between bodyweight decline and expressions of MHC-I components in the olfactory bulbs of Bl6 mice and the frontal cortex of 129Sv, highlighting different brain regions most affected by LPS in these strains. Our findings suggest that the brains of Bl6 mice exist in a more immunocompetent state compared to 129Sv mice.
Keywords: 129S6/SvEvTac; C57BL/6NTac; MHC-I; innate immunity; lipopolysaccharide; neuroinflammation.