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Microglial Cell Morphology and Phagocytic Activity Are Critically Regulated by the Neurosteroid Allopregnanolone: A Possible Role in Neuroprotection.

ABSTRACT: Microglial cells are key players in neural pathogenesis and microglial function regulation appears to be pivotal in controlling neuroinflammatory/neurological diseases. Here, we investigated the effects and mechanism of action of neurosteroid allopregnanolone (ALLO) on murine microglial BV-2 cells and primary microglia in order to determine ALLO-induced immunomodulatory potential and to provide new insights for the development of both natural and safe neuroprotective strategies targeting microglia. Indeed, ALLO-treatment is increasingly suggested as beneficial in various models of neurological disorders but the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated. Therefore, the microglial cells were cultured with various serum concentrations to mimic the blood-brain-barrier rupture and to induce their activation. Proliferation, viability, RT-qPCR, phagocytosis, and morphology analyzes, as well as migration with time-lapse imaging and quantitative morphodynamic methods, were combined to investigate ALLO actions on microglia. BV-2 cells express subunits of GABA-A receptor that mediates ALLO activity. ALLO (10µM) induced microglial cell process extension and decreased migratory capacity. Interestingly, ALLO modulated the phagocytic activity of BV-2 cells and primary microglia. Our results, which show a direct effect of ALLO on microglial morphology and phagocytic function, suggest that the natural neurosteroid-based approach may contribute to developing effective strategies against neurological disorders that are evoked by microglia-related abnormalities.

SUBMITTER: Jolivel V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8004004 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:PurposeMicroglia represent the primary resident immune cells in the CNS, and have been implicated in the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Under basal or "resting" conditions, microglia possess ramified morphologies and exhibit dynamic surveying movements in their processes. Despite the prominence of this phenomenon, the function and regulation of microglial morphology and dynamic behavior are incompletely understood. We investigate here whether and how neurotransmission regulates "resting" microglial morphology and behavior.MethodsWe employed an ex vivo mouse retinal explant system in which endogenous neurotransmission and dynamic microglial behavior are present. We utilized live-cell time-lapse confocal imaging to study the morphology and behavior of GFP-labeled retinal microglia in response to neurotransmitter agonists and antagonists. Patch clamp electrophysiology and immunohistochemical localization of glutamate receptors were also used to investigate direct-versus-indirect effects of neurotransmission by microglia.ResultsRetinal microglial morphology and dynamic behavior were not cell-autonomously regulated but are instead modulated by endogenous neurotransmission. Morphological parameters and process motility were differentially regulated by different modes of neurotransmission and were increased by ionotropic glutamatergic neurotransmission and decreased by ionotropic GABAergic neurotransmission. These neurotransmitter influences on retinal microglia were however unlikely to be directly mediated; local applications of neurotransmitters were unable to elicit electrical responses on microglia patch-clamp recordings and ionotropic glutamatergic receptors were not located on microglial cell bodies or processes by immunofluorescent labeling. Instead, these influences were mediated indirectly via extracellular ATP, released in response to glutamatergic neurotransmission through probenecid-sensitive pannexin hemichannels.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that neurotransmission plays an endogenous role in regulating the morphology and behavior of "resting" microglia in the retina. These findings illustrate a mode of constitutive signaling between the neural and immune compartments of the CNS through which immune cells may be regulated in concert with levels of neural activity.

Project description:RATIONALE:GR3027 is a novel small molecule GABA-A receptor-modulating steroid antagonist, which in non-clinical studies has shown promise for treatment of human disorders due to allosteric over-activation of GABA-A receptors by neurosteroids, such as allopregnanolone. We here studied its safety, pharmacokinetics, and ability to inhibit allopregnanolone effects in humans. METHODS:Safety and pharmacokinetics were studied in healthy adult males receiving ascending single or multiple oral GR3027 vs. placebo. GR3027-mediated reversal of allopregnanolone effect on maximal saccadic eye velocity (SEV), and self-rated somnolence was studied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-part cross-over study in which 3 or 30 mg oral GR3027 preceded 0.05 mg/kg of i.v. allopregnanolone. RESULTS:GR3027 was well tolerated, adverse events were generally mild and transient, and no dose-limiting toxicity or grade 3 adverse events were observed up to the highest single (200 mg) or multiple (100 mg every 12 h for 5 days) doses. The maximum concentration (Cmax) and systemic exposure (area under the plasma concentration-time curve from dose extrapolated to infinity [AUC0-?] and/or AUC during the dosing interval [AUC?]) varied linearly with dose; with dose-dependent accumulation ratios of 1.3-1.6. Allopregnanolone decreased SEV and induced somnolence in most, but not all subjects. By predefined analyses, 30 mg GR3027 significantly inhibited allopregnanolone-induced decrease in SEV (p?=?0.03); 3 and 30 mg GR3027 non-significantly inhibited allopregnanolone-induced sedation. By post hoc analyses restricted to subjects with allopregnanolone-induced changes and the time period over which they occurred, GR3027 dose dependently inhibited allopregnanolone-induced decrease in SEV (p?=?0.04 at 30 mg, non-significant at 3 mg) and allopregnanolone-induced sedation (p?=?0.01/0.05 at 3/30 mg doses). CONCLUSION:Oral GR3027 mitigates inhibition of brain function induced by allopregnanolone at doses which are clinically well tolerated and associated with linear pharmacokinetics.

Project description:Our previous research demonstrated that the neuroactive progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone (3alpha-hydroxy-5alpha-pregnan-20-one) rapidly induced hippocampal neuron neurite regression (Brinton, 1994). We hypothesized that allopregnanolone-induced neurite regression was a prelude to mitogenesis initiated by a rise in intracellular calcium. Supporting this hypothesis, the current data demonstrate that allopregnanolone, in a dose-dependent manner, induces a significant increase in proliferation of neuroprogenitor cells (NPCs) derived from the rat hippocampus and human neural stem cells (hNSCs) derived from the cerebral cortex. Proliferation was determined by incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine and [3H]thymidine, fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis of murine leukemia virus-green fluorescent protein-labeled mitotic NPCs, and total cell number counting. Allopregnanolone-induced proliferation was isomer and steroid specific, in that the stereoisomer 3beta-hydroxy-5beta-pregnan-20-one and related steroids did not increase [3H]thymidine uptake. Immunofluorescent analyses for the NPC markers nestin and Tuj1 indicated that newly formed cells were of neuronal lineage. Furthermore, microarray analysis of cell-cycle genes and real-time reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot validation revealed that allopregnanolone increased the expression of genes that promote mitosis and inhibited the expression of genes that repress cell proliferation. Allopregnanolone-induced proliferation was antagonized by the voltage-gated L-type calcium channel (VGLCC) blocker nifedipine, consistent with the finding that allopregnanolone induces a rapid increase in intracellular calcium in hippocampal neurons via a GABA type A receptor-activated VGLCC (Son et al., 2002). These data demonstrate that allopregnanolone significantly increased rat NPC and hNSC proliferation with concomitant regulation in mitotic cell-cycle genes via a VGLCC mechanism. The therapeutic potential of allopregnanolone as a neurogenic molecule is discussed.

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Microglial Cell Morphology and Phagocytic Activity Are Critically Regulated by the Neurosteroid Allopregnanolone: A Possible Role in Neuroprotection.

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