Diverse injury responses of human oligodendrocyte to mediators implicated in multiple sclerosis
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ABSTRACT: Early multiple sclerosis lesions feature relative preservation of oligodendrocyte cell bodies with dying back retraction of their myelinating processes. Cell loss occurs with disease progression. Putative injury mediators include metabolic stress (low glucose/nutrient), pro-inflammatory mediators (interferon γ and tumor necrosis factor a), and excitotoxins (glutamate). Our objective was to compare the impact of these disease relevant mediators on the injury responses of human mature oligodendrocytes. In the current study, we determined the effects of these mediators on process extension and survival of human brain derived mature oligodendrocytes in vitro and used bulk RNA sequencing to identify distinct effector mechanisms that underlie the responses. All mediators induced significant process retraction of the oligodendrocytes in dissociated cell culture. Only metabolic stress (low glucose/nutrient) conditions resulted in delayed (4-6 days) non-apoptotic cell death. Metabolic effects were associated with induction of the integrated stress response, which can be protective or contribute to cell injury dependent on its level and duration of activation. Addition of Sephin1, an agonist of the integrated stress response induced process retraction under control conditions and further enhanced retraction under metabolic stress conditions. The antagonist ISRIB restored process outgrowth under stress conditions, and if added to already stressed cells, reduced delayed cell death and prolonged the period in which recovery could occur. Inflammatory cytokine functional effects were associated with activation of multiple signaling pathways (including Jak/Stat-1) that regulate process outgrowth, without integrated stress response induction. Glutamate application produced limited transcriptional changes suggesting a contribution of effects directly on cell processes.
Project description:T helper (Th)17 cells are considered to contribute to inflammatory mechanisms in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the discussion persists regarding their true role in patients. Here, we visualized central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory processes in models of MS live in vivo and in MS brains and discovered that CNS-infiltrating Th17 cells form prolonged stable contact with oligodendrocytes. Strikingly, compared to Th2 cells, direct contact with Th17 worsened experimental demyelination, caused damage to human oligodendrocyte processes and increased cell death. Importantly, we found that in comparison to Th2 cells, both human and murine Th17 cells express higher levels of the integrin CD29, which is linked to glutamate release pathways. Of note, contact of human Th17 cells with oligodendrocytes triggered release of glutamate. As we found that Th17-polarized cells release glutamate in contact with oligodendrocytic cells, we then assessed the impact of glutamate itself on human oligodendrocytes in primary culture. We found that 12-24h application of glutamate - but not pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFα or IFN-γ - strongly decreased the area and complexity of human oligodendrocyte processes in vitro without affecting oligodendrocyte survival. To further investigate the impact of glutamate on human oligodendrocytes we used single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) of the human oligodendrocytes in primary culture, unstimulated (vehicle) and stimulated with glutamate. Following exposure to glutamate we observed induced cell stress and changes in biosynthesis of cholesterol and lipids in mature human oligodendrocytes. Finally, exposure to glutamate decreased myelination whereas blockade of CD29 preserved oligodendrocyte processes from Th17-mediated injury. Our data provide first evidence for direct and deleterious attack of Th17 cells on the myelin compartment and show the potential for new therapeutic opportunities in MS.
Project description:Reactive astrocytes are typically studied in models that cause irreversible mechanical damage to axons, neuronal cell bodies, and glia. We evaluated the response of astrocytes in the optic nerve head to a subtle injury induced by a brief, mild elevation of the intraocular pressure. Astrocytes demonstrated reactive remodeling showing hypertrophy, process retraction and simplification of their shape. We used microarray to indentify differentially expressed genes and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of astrogliosis in response to this subtle injury.
Project description:Reactive astrocytes are typically studied in models that cause irreversible mechanical damage to axons, neuronal cell bodies, and glia. We evaluated the response of astrocytes in the optic nerve head to a subtle injury induced by a brief, mild elevation of the intraocular pressure. Astrocytes demonstrated reactive remodeling showing hypertrophy, process retraction and simplification of their shape. We used microarray to indentify differentially expressed genes and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of astrogliosis in response to this subtle injury. Six- to eight-week old C57Bl/6 male mice were used in this experiment. One eye underwent an elevation in intraocular pressure to 30 mmHg for 1 hour and then allowed to recover for 3 days. The contralateral eye served as a control. Due to the small tissue size of the mouse optic nerve head, two optic nerve heads were pooled together for each microarray chip. We used 10 mice to generate five biological replicates for each condition.
Project description:Increasing evidence indicates heterogeneity in functional and molecular properties of oligodendrocyte lineage cells both during development and under pathologic conditions. In multiple sclerosis, remyelination of grey matter lesions exceeds that in white matter. Here we used cells derived from grey matter versus white matter regions of surgically resected human brain tissue samples, to compare the capacities of human A2B5-positive progenitor cells and mature oligodendrocytes to ensheath synthetic nanofibers, and relate differences to the molecular profiles of these cells. For both cell types, the percentage of ensheathing cells was greater for grey matter versus white matter cells. For both grey matter and white matter samples, the percentage of cells ensheathing nanofibers was greater for A2B5-positive cells versus mature oligodendrocytes. Grey matter A2B5-positive cells were more susceptible than white matter A2B5-positive cells to injury induced by metabolic insults. Bulk RNA sequencing indicated that separation by cell type (A2B5-positive vs mature oligodendrocytes) is more significant than by region but segregation for each cell type by region is apparent. Molecular features of grey matter versus white matter derived A2B5-positive and mature oligodendrocytes were lower expression of mature oligodendrocyte genes and increased expression of early oligodendrocyte lineage genes. Genes and pathways with increased expression in grey matter derived cells with relevance for myelination included those related to responses to external environment, cell-cell communication, cell migration, and cell adhesion. Immune and cell death related genes were up-regulated in grey matter derived cells. We observed a significant number of up-regulated genes shared between the stress/injury and myelination processes, providing a basis for these features. In contrast to oligodendrocyte lineage cells, no functional or molecular heterogeneity was detected in microglia maintained in vitro, likely reflecting the plasticity of these cells ex vivo. The combined functional and molecular data indicate that grey matter human oligodendrocytes have increased intrinsic capacity to myelinate but also increased injury susceptibility, in part reflecting their being at a stage earlier in the oligodendrocyte lineage.
Project description:Excitotoxicity caused by over-stimulation of the ionotropic glutamate receptors is a key neuronal cell death process underpinning brain damage in acute and chronic neurological disorders such as ischaemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative diseases. Exactly how neurons die in excitotoxicity still remains unclear and is an important area of research in the field of neuroscience. In this current project we wanted to explore the global changes in proteome and phosphoproteome following glutamate excitotoxicity in cultured primary cortical neurons.
Project description:Despite the recent advances in our understanding of the role of lipids, metabolites and related enzymes in mediating kidney injury, there is limited integrated multi-omics data identifying potential metabolic pathways driving human kidney damage (KD). The limited availability of kidney biopsies from living donors with kidney disease has remained a major constraint. Here, we validated the use of deceased transplant donor kidneys as a good model to study kidney disease in humans and characterized these kidneys using imaging and multi-omics approaches. We demonstrated that changes in kidney injury and inflammatory markers following KD were consistent with the changes in pre-donation renal function in donors. Neighborhood and correlation analyses of imaging mass cytometry data showed that a subset of renal cells (e.g., fibroblasts) are associated with the expression profile of renal immune cells, potentially linking these cells to kidney inflammation. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of human kidneys showed that renal arachidonic acid metabolism and seven other metabolic pathways were upregulated following KD. To validate the therapeutic potential of targeting the arachidonic acid pathway, we demonstrated increased levels of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) protein and related lipid mediators (e.g., prostaglandin E2) in the injured kidneys. The inhibition of cPLA2 reduced injury and inflammation in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (RPTEC) in vitro. This study identifies cell types and metabolic pathways that may be critical for controlling inflammation associated with KD in humans.
Project description:IGF-I exert multiple effects in different retinal cell populations in both physiological and pathological conditions. Transgenic mice overexpressing IGF-I in the retina showed impaired electroretinographic responses at 6-7 months of age that worsen with age. This retinal neuronal dysfunction was correlated with the loss of rod photoreceptors, bipolar, ganglion and amacrines cells. Neuronal alterations were preceded by the overexpression of retinal stress markers, acute phase proteins and gliosis-related genes. IGF-I overexpression leads to chronic gliosis and microgliosis in TgIGF-I retinas, with mild oxidative stress, impaired recycling of glutamate and defective potassium buffering. These impaired supportive functions can contribute to neurodegeneration in TgIGF-I retinas, together with the increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, potential mediators of neuronal death.
Project description:The functional integration of innate immune and metabolic signaling responses represents an ancient strategy to manage infections in metazoans. Using Drosophila, we uncovered that immune-metabolic sensing in muscle dictates resistance to enteric bacterial infection through vitamins dependent metabolic remodeling. Within muscle, the activation strength of systemic innate immune signaling, integrated with mitochondrial-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (Gdh) function, conditions lipid mobilization from adipose. Mild intramuscular IMD/innate immune signaling activity allows for infection-mediated increases in mitochondrial biogenesis/function, which further stimulates mitochondria/Gdh-dependent synthesis of glutamate. Intramuscular derived glutamate acts as a systemic metabolite to influence lipid mobilization through altering vitamin metabolism. This lipid mobilization improves bacterial clearance and boost infection resistance. Conversely, elevated activation of IMD/innate immune signaling in muscle impedes infection-mediated increases in mitochondrial biogenesis/function and subsequent metabolic remodeling. Finally, life history traits that fine-tune intramuscular mitochondrial dynamics consequently influence infection resistance and shape phenotypic diversity of infection responses within populations.
Project description:The generation of myelinating cells in the central nervous system (CNS) requires the initiation of specific gene-expression programs in oligodendrocytes. We reasoned that miRNAs could play an important role in this process by regulating critical developmental genes. Microarray profiling of cultured oligodendrocytes identifies the miR-17~92 family of miRNA cluster as highly enriched miRNAs in oligodendrocytes.We specifically deleted the miR-17~92 cluster in oligodendrocytes using the 2´3´-cyclic nucleotide 3´-phosphodiesterase (CNP)-Cre mice. Absence of miR-17~92 leads to a reduction of oligodendrocyte number in vivo and we find that the expression of these miRNAs in primary cultures of oligodendrocytes promotes cell proliferation by influencing Akt signalling. Together, these results suggest that the miRNA pathway is essential in determining oligodendroglial cell number and that the miR-17~92 cluster is crucial in this process. Transcriptome microarray profiling was used for the identification of mRNAs enriched in oligodendrocytes. Total RNA lysates from primary oligodendroctes compared to primary astrocytes were analysed regarding their mRNA levels. Three independent samples for each of the two cell types were used. The study was initially designed with a comparison of oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. However, only the comparison of oligodendrocytes and astrocytes is discussed in the present study.
Project description:The generation of myelinating cells in the central nervous system (CNS) requires the initiation of specific gene-expression programs in oligodendrocytes. We reasoned that miRNAs could play an important role in this process by regulating critical developmental genes. Microarray profiling of cultured oligodendrocytes identifies the miR-17~92 family of miRNA cluster as highly enriched miRNAs in oligodendrocytes.We specifically deleted the miR-17~92 cluster in oligodendrocytes using the 2´3´-cyclic nucleotide 3´-phosphodiesterase (CNP)-Cre mice. Absence of miR-17~92 leads to a reduction of oligodendrocyte number in vivo and we find that the expression of these miRNAs in primary cultures of oligodendrocytes promotes cell proliferation by influencing Akt signalling. Together, these results suggest that the miRNA pathway is essential in determining oligodendroglial cell number and that the miR-17~92 cluster is crucial in this process. miRNA microarray profiling was used for the identification of miRNAs enriched in oligodendrocytes. Total RNA lysates from primary oligodendroctes compared to primary astrocytes were analysed regarding their miRNA levels. Three independent samples for each of the two cell types were used. The study was initially designed with a comparison of oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. However, only the comparison of oligodendrocytes and astrocytes is discussed in the present study.