As an additional analysis, and to confirm the above-described elevation in glial immunoreactivity and the changes in the morphological characteristics of these cells, we also measured by qPCR the levels of different markers of glial cells, such as the cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α, the glial glutamate transporter EAAT2 (GLT-1), and the M2 microglial marker arginase-1 in FTD and wildtype mice at the two ages selected for investigation: PND90 and PND365 (presented as Additional file 5: Fig. S5). This evidence concerns the gene IL1B and frontotemporal dementia.