Fate-mapping via Spp1-expression history revealed innate immune memory of microglia imprinted by neonatal injury [Spp1Tdt]
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ABSTRACT: Microglial reactivity to injury and disease is emerging as a heterogeneous, dynamic, and crucial determinant in neurological disorders. However, the plasticity and ultimate fate of disease-associated microglia (DAM) remains largely unknown. We established a lineage tracing system, leveraging the expression dynamics of Spp1, which allows for genetic labeling of DAM-like microglia and tracking their behavior during brain injury and recovery. Fate-mapping of Spp1+ microglia in juvenile stroke revealed an irreversible state of reactive microglia that are ultimately eliminated from the injured brain. In contrast, DAM-like microglia in the neonatal context exhibit high plasticity, capable of regaining a homeostatic signature and integrating into the global microglial network after recovery. Furthermore, neonatal injury has a lasting impact on microglia, rendering them intrinsically sensitized to subsequent immune challenges. Therefore, by unraveling the fate of DAM-like microglia in various neuropathological conditions, our work highlights the exceptional plasticity and innate immune memory of neonatal microglia.
Project description:Microglial reactivity to injury and disease is emerging as a heterogeneous, dynamic, and crucial determinant in neurological disorders. However, the plasticity and ultimate fate of disease-associated microglia (DAM) remains largely unknown. We established a lineage tracing system, leveraging the expression dynamics of Spp1, which allows for genetic labeling of DAM-like microglia and tracking their behavior during brain injury and recovery. Fate-mapping of Spp1+ microglia in juvenile stroke revealed an irreversible state of reactive microglia that are ultimately eliminated from the injured brain. In contrast, DAM-like microglia in the neonatal context exhibit high plasticity, capable of regaining a homeostatic signature and integrating into the global microglial network after recovery. Furthermore, neonatal injury has a lasting impact on microglia, rendering them intrinsically sensitized to subsequent immune challenges. Therefore, by unraveling the fate of DAM-like microglia in various neuropathological conditions, our work highlights the exceptional plasticity and innate immune memory of neonatal microglia.
Project description:Rehabilitative training is an effective method to promote recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI), with lower training efficacy observed in the chronic stage. The increased training efficacy during the subacute period is associated with an adaptive state induced by the SCI. A potential link is SCI-induced inflammation, which is elevated in the subacute period, and as injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alongside training improves recovery in chronic SCI, suggesting LPS could reopen a window of plasticity late after injury. Microglia may play a role in LPS-mediated plasticity as they react to LPS and are implicated in facilitating recovery following SCI. However, it is unknown how microglia change in response to LPS following SCI to promote neuroplasticity. Here we used single-cell RNA sequencing to examine microglial responses in subacute and chronic SCI with and without an LPS injection. We show that subacute SCI is characterized by a disease-associated microglial (DAM) signature, while chronic SCI is highly heterogeneous, with both injury-induced and homeostatic states. With LPS injection, microglia shifted away from the homeostatic signature to a primed, translation-associated state and increased DAM in degenerated tracts caudal to the injury. Our results contribute to an understanding of how microglia and LPS-induced neuroinflammation contribute to plasticity following SCI.
Project description:Recent single-cell RNA sequencing studies have revealed distinct microglial states in development and disease. These include proliferative region-associated microglia (PAM) in developing white matter and disease-associated microglia (DAM) prevalent in various neurodegenerative conditions. PAM and DAM share a similar core gene signature and other functional properties. However, the extent of the dynamism and plasticity of these microglial states, as well as their functional significance, remains elusive, partly due to the lack of specific tools. Here, we report the generation of an inducible Cre driver line, Clec7a-CreERT2, designed to target PAM and DAM in the brain parenchyma. Utilizing this tool, we isolate and profile labeled cells during development and in several disease models, uncovering convergence and context-dependent differences in PAM/DAM gene expression. Through long-term tracking, we demonstrate surprising levels of plasticity in these microglial states. Lastly, we specifically deplete DAM in cuprizone-induced demyelination, revealing their roles in disease progression and recovery.
Project description:Microglia are resident myeloid cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) has enabled description of a disease-associated subtype of microglia (DAM) with a role in neurodegeneration and demyelination. In this study we use scRNAseq to investigate the temporal dynamics of immune cells harvested from the epicenter of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). As a consequence of SCI, homeostatic microglia undergo permanent transcriptional re-programming into a subtype of microglia with striking similarities to previoysly reported DAM as well as a distinct microglial state found during development. Using a microglia depletion model we showed that DAM in SCI are derived from homeostatic microglia and strongly enhance recovery of hind limb locomotor function following injury.
Project description:New research shows that disease-associated microglia (DAM) in neurodegenerative brains present features of elevated phagocytosis, lysosomal functions, and lipid metabolism, which benefit brain repair. The underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Intracellular pHi is important for regulating aerobic glycolysis in microglia, where Na/H exchanger (NHE1) is a key pH regulator by extruding H+ in exchange of Na+ influx. We report here that post-stroke Cx3cr1-CreER+/-;Nhe1flox/flox (Nhe1 cKO) brains displayed stimulation of microglial transcriptomes of rate-limiting enzyme genes for glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The other upregulated genes included the DAM hallmark genes (Apoe, Trem2, Spp1) as well as genes for phagocytosis and LXR/RXR pathway activation. The cKO microglia exhibited increased OXPHOS capacity and higher phagocytic activity, which led to enhanced synaptic pruning, oligodendrogenesis, and remyelination. This study reveals that genetic blockade of microglial NHE1 stimulated glucose immunometabolism to support phagocytosis function for tissue remodeling and post-stroke cognitive function recovery.
Project description:Microglia colonize the brain parenchyma at early stages of development and accumulate in specific regions where they actively participate in cell death, angiogenesis, neurogenesis and synapse elimination. A recurring feature of embryonic microglial distribution is their association with developing axon tracts which, together with in vitro data, supports the idea of a physiological role for microglia in neurite development. Yet the demonstration of this role of microglia is still lacking. Here, we have studied the consequences of microglial dysfunction on the formation of the corpus callosum, the largest connective structure in the mammalian brain, which shows consistent microglial accumulation during development. We studied two models of microglial dysfunction: the loss-of-function of DAP12, a key microglial-specific signaling molecule, and a model of maternal inflammation by peritoneal injection of LPS at E15.5. We performed transcriptional profiling of maternally inflamed and Dap12-mutant microglia at E17.5. We found that both treatments principally down-regulated genes involved in nervous system development and function, particularly in neurite formation. We then analyzed the functional consequences of these microglial dysfunctions on the formation of the corpus callosum. We also took advantage of the Pu.1-/- mouse line, which is devoid of microglia. We now show that all three models of altered microglial activity resulted in the same defasciculation phenotype. Our study demonstrates that microglia are actively involved in the fasciculation of corpus callosum axons. To investigate possible roles for microglial during brain development, we challenged microglial function by two complementary approaches. First, we induced maternal inflammation by peritoneal injection of LPS into pregnant dams. Next, we analyzed the consequences of a loss of function of DAP12, a signaling molecule specifically expressed in microglia that is crucial for several aspects of microglia biology (references in Wakselman et al., 2008). We compared the gene expression profiles of microglia from control, maternally-inflamed by LPS (MI), and Dap12-mutated embryos. We isolated RNA from FACS sorted maternally inflamed (by LPS) and Dap12-mutant microglia at E17.5 pooled per pregnant dam; as a control we included PBS treated and untreated (UT) microglia. We compared gene expression between maternally inflamed microlgia (PBSvsLPS) and DAP12-mutant microglia (UTvsDAP12KO).
Project description:The innate immunity influences neural repair after spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we combined myeloid-specific nuclear transcriptomics and single-cell RNA-sequencing to uncover a common core but also temporally distinct gene programs in injury-activated microglia and macrophages (IAM). Intriguingly, we detected a wide range of microglial activation states even in healthy spinal cord; upon injury, reactive microglia and infiltrated macrophages progressively acquired an overall reparative, yet highly diversified gene expression profile, while maintaining their distinct transcriptional identities. Microglia and macrophages each comprise four distinct transcriptional subtypes with specialized tasks. Notably, IAM and disease-associated microglia (DAM) shared similar gene signatures, with a predominant enrichment in infiltrating macrophages and only a small subset of reactive microglia that specialized in phagocytosis, autophagy, and TyroBP network activity. We also identified an immediate response microglial subtype that may serve as source population for microglial transformation, and a highly proliferative subtype that is controlled by the epigenetic regulator HDAC3. Together, our data unveiled diversification of myeloid and other glial cell types and an extensive influence of HDAC3, which may be exploited to enhance neural repair.