Methylene blue reduces the severity of lipopolysaccharide-induced morphological changes in microglia in rat cerebral cortex glial cell cultures

  
Stelmashook E.V.1, Genrikhs E.E.1, Kapkaeva M.R.1, Alexandrova O.P.1, Isaev N.K.2

1. Russian Center of Neurology and Neurosciences, Moscow, Russia
2. Russian Center of Neurology and Neurosciences, Moscow, Russia; M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Section: Experimental Study
DOI: 10.18097/PBMCR1690      PubMed Id: 42446255
Year: 2026  Volume: 72  Issue: 3  Pages: 198-206
Neuroinflammation is a process implicated in the development of many neurodegenerative diseases. It involves microglia, astrocytes, and cytokines. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of neuroprotectors on morphology of microglial cell during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation. Immunocytochemical detection of microglia using the IBA1 marker in glial cell cultures obtained from rat cerebral cortex revealed the presence of a significant number of microglial cells in the studied culture. In the control, microglial cells possessed a large number of processes typical of nonactivated cells. In cultures treated with LPS (10 μg/ml, 24 h), microglia had a flattened amoeboid morphology, characteristic of activated cells. Furthermore, LPS treatment also resulted in an increase in the profile field area of the cell body, while the perimeter did not increase significantly, indicating a more rounded cell body shape compared to the control. In cultures treated with methylene blue (1 μM, 24 h) in the presence of LPS, microglial cells had a larger number of processes and a smaller body profile area than microglia treated with LPS alone, and their perimeter did not differ significantly from that of control cells. In the case of menadione (1 μM, 24 h) in the presence of LPS, the cells retained an amoeboid shape, and their size did not change significantly compared to the LPS group. Microglia treated with methylene blue alone did not differ from control microglia in morphology, body profile area, or perimeter, whereas menadione caused a significant increase in the cell's body profile area and a shift in their morphology toward an activated phenotype. Methylene blue, a substance whose anti-inflammatory action is associated with Nrf2 activation, is capable of not only reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines but also preventing the transition of microglia to the activated phenotype.
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Keywords: neuroinflammation, methylene blue, menadione, microglia, LPS, morphometry
Citation:

Stelmashook, E. V., Genrikhs, E. E., Kapkaeva, M. R., Alexandrova, O. P., Isaev, N. K. (2026). Methylene blue reduces the severity of lipopolysaccharide-induced morphological changes in microglia in rat cerebral cortex glial cell cultures. Biomeditsinskaya Khimiya, 72(3), 198-206.
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