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Absence of TGF? signaling in retinal microglia induces retinal degeneration and exacerbates choroidal neovascularization.

ABSTRACT: Constitutive TGF? signaling is important in maintaining retinal neurons and blood vessels and is a factor contributing to the risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a retinal disease involving neurodegeneration and microglial activation. How TGF? signaling to microglia influences pathological retinal neuroinflammation is unclear. We discovered that ablation of the TGF? receptor, TGFBR2, in retinal microglia of adult mice induced abnormal microglial numbers, distribution, morphology, and activation status, and promoted a pathological microglial gene expression profile. TGFBR2-deficient retinal microglia induced secondary gliotic changes in Müller cells, neuronal apoptosis, and decreased light-evoked retinal function reflecting abnormal synaptic transmission. While retinal vasculature was unaffected, TGFBR2-deficient microglia demonstrated exaggerated responses to laser-induced injury that was associated with increased choroidal neovascularization, a hallmark of advanced exudative AMD. These findings demonstrate that deficiencies in TGF?-mediated microglial regulation can drive neuroinflammatory contributions to AMD-related neurodegeneration and neovascularization, highlighting TGF? signaling as a potential therapeutic target.

SUBMITTER: Ma W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6342522 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Absence of TGFβ signaling in retinal microglia induces retinal degeneration and exacerbates choroidal neovascularization.

Ma Wenxin W Silverman Sean M SM Zhao Lian L Villasmil Rafael R Campos Maria M MM Amaral Juan J Wong Wai T WT

eLife 20190122

Constitutive TGFβ signaling is important in maintaining retinal neurons and blood vessels and is a factor contributing to the risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a retinal disease involving neurodegeneration and microglial activation. How TGFβ signaling to microglia influences pathological retinal neuroinflammation is unclear. We discovered that ablation of the TGFβ receptor, TGFBR2, in retinal microglia of adult mice induced abnormal microglial numbers, distribution, morphology, an ...[more]

PMID: 30666961

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Project description:PurposeTo evaluate Nuclear Factor NF-κB (NF-κB) signaling on microglia activation, migration, and angiogenesis in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV).MethodsNine-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were randomly assigned to IMD-0354 treated or untreated groups (5 mice, 10 eyes per group). CNV was induced with a 532-nm laser. Laser spots (power 250 mW, spot size 100 μm, time of exposure 50 ms) were created in each eye using a slit-lamp delivery system. Selective inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit beta (IKK2) inhibitor IMD-0354 (10 μg) was delivered subconjunctivally; vehicle-treated mice were the control. The treatment effect on CNV development was assessed at five days post-CNV induction in vivo in C57BL/6 and Cx3cr1gfp/wt mice by fluorescent angiography, fundus imaging, and ex vivo by retinal flatmounts immunostaining and Western blot analysis of RPE/Choroidal/Scleral complexes (RCSC) lysates. In vitro evaluations of IMD-0354 effects were performed in the BV-2 microglial cell line using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation.ResultsIMD-0354 caused a significant reduction in the fluorescein leakage and size of the laser spot, as well as a reduction in microglial cell migration and suppression of phospho-IκBα, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), and Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (COX-2). In vivo and ex vivo observations demonstrated reduced lesion size in mice, CD68, and Allograft inflammatory factor 1 (IBA-1) positive microglia cells migration to the laser injury site in IMD-0354 treated eyes. The data further corroborate with GFP-positive cells infiltration of the CNV site in Cx3cr1wt/gfp mice. In vitro IMD-0354 (10-25 ng/ml) treatment reduced NF-κB activation, expression of COX-2, caused decreased Actin-F presence and organization, resulting in reduced BV-2 cells migration capacity.ConclusionThe present data indicate that NF-κB activation in microglia and it's migration capacity is involved in the development of laser CNV in mice. Its suppression by NF-κB inhibition might be a promising therapeutic strategy for wet AMD.

Project description:Inhibition of chemokine C-C motif receptor 3 (CCR3) signaling has been considered as treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, CCR3 is expressed in neural retina from aged human donor eyes. Therefore, broad CCR3 inhibition may be harmful to the retina. We assessed the effects of CCR3 inhibition on retina and choroidal endothelial cells (CECs) that develop into choroidal neovascularization (CNV). In adult murine eyes, CCR3 colocalized with glutamine-synthetase labeled M?ller cells. In a murine laser-induced CNV model, CCR3 immunolocalized not only to lectin-stained cells in CNV lesions but also to the retina. Compared to non-lasered controls, CCR3 mRNA was significantly increased in laser-treated retina. An intravitreal injection of a CCR3 inhibitor (CCR3i) significantly reduced CNV compared to DMSO or PBS controls. Both CCR3i and a neutralizing antibody to CCR3 increased TUNEL+ retinal cells overlying CNV, compared to controls. There was no difference in cleaved caspase-3 in laser-induced CNV lesions or in overlying retina between CCR3i- or control-treated eyes. Following CCR3i, apoptotic inducible factor (AIF) was significantly increased and anti-apoptotic factor BCL2 decreased in the retina; there were no differences in retinal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In cultured human M?ller cells exposed to eotaxin (CCL11) and VEGF, CCR3i significantly increased TUNEL+ cells and AIF but decreased BCL2 and brain derived neurotrophic factor, without affecting caspase-3 activity or VEGF. CCR3i significantly decreased AIF in RPE/choroids and immunostaining of phosphorylated VEGF receptor 2 (p-VEGFR2) in CNV with a trend toward reduced VEGF. In cultured CECs treated with CCL11 and/or VEGF, CCR3i decreased p-VEGFR2 and increased BCL2 without increasing TUNEL+ cells and AIF. These findings suggest that inhibition of retinal CCR3 causes retinal cell death and that targeted inhibition of CCR3 in CECs may be a safer if CCR3 inhibition is considered as a therapy for neovascular AMD.

Project description:Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex, multifactorial, progressive disease which represents a leading cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness in older individuals. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which infects 50-80% of humans, is usually acquired during early life and persists in a latent state for the life of the individual. In view of its previously described pro-angiogenic properties, we hypothesized that cytomegalovirus might be a novel risk factor for progression to an advanced form, neovascular AMD, which is characterized by choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The purpose of this study was to investigate if latent ocular murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection exacerbated the development of CNV in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-overexpressing VEGF-Ahyper mice. Here we show that neonatal infection with MCMV resulted in dissemination of virus to various organs throughout the body including the eye, where it localized principally to the choroid in both VEGF-overexpressingVEGF-Ahyper and wild-type(WT) 129 mice. By 6 months post-infection, no replicating virus was detected in eyes and extraocular tissues, although virus DNA was still present in all eyes and extraocular tissues of both VEGF-Ahyper and WT mice. Expression of MCMV immediate early (IE) 1 mRNA was detected only in latently infected eyes of VEGF-Ahyper mice, but not in eyes of WT mice. Significantly increased CNV was observed in eyes of MCMV-infected VEGF-Ahyper mice compared to eyes of uninfected VEGF-Ahyper mice, while no CNV lesions were observed in eyes of either infected or uninfected WT mice. Protein levels of several inflammatory/angiogenic factors, particularly VEGF and IL-6, were significantly higher in eyes of MCMV-infected VEGF-Ahyper mice, compared to uninfected controls. Initial studies of ocular tissue from human cadavers revealed that HCMV DNA was present in four choroid/retinal pigment epithelium samples from 24 cadavers. Taken together, our data suggest that ocular HCMV latency could be a significant risk factor for the development of AMD. © 2020 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dataset Information

Absence of TGF? signaling in retinal microglia induces retinal degeneration and exacerbates choroidal neovascularization.

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Absence of TGFβ signaling in retinal microglia induces retinal degeneration and exacerbates choroidal neovascularization.

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