RNA sequencing data of dural macrophages isolated from brains of Cx3cr1-GFP mice at different ages.
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ABSTRACT: While macrophages in the meningeal compartments of the central nervous system (CNS) has been comprehensively characterized under steady state, studying their contribution to physiological and pathological processes has been severely hampered by the lack of specific targeting tools in vivo. Recent findings have shown that the dural sinus and its adjacent lymphatic vessels act as a neuroimmune interface. Notably, the cellular and functional heterogeneity of extrasinusoidal dural macrophages outside this immune hub is currently unclear. Therefore, we comprehensively characterized these cells using single-cell transcriptomics, fate mapping, confocal imaging, clonal analysis and transgenic mouse lines. Extrasinusoidal dural macrophages were clearly distinct from leptomeningeal and CNS parenchymal macrophages in terms of their origin, expansion kinetics and transcriptional profiles. Lastly, functional studies demonstrated that during autoimmune neuroinflammation, extrasinusoidal dural macrophages perform efferocytosis of granulocytes. Our results highlight a previously unappreciated myeloid cell diversity and provide insights into the brain’s innate immune system.
Project description:While macrophages in the meningeal compartments of the central nervous system (CNS) has been comprehensively characterized under steady state, studying their contribution to physiological and pathological processes has been severely hampered by the lack of specific targeting tools in vivo. Recent findings have shown that the dural sinus and its adjacent lymphatic vessels act as a neuroimmune interface. Notably, the cellular and functional heterogeneity of extrasinusoidal dural macrophages outside this immune hub is currently unclear. Therefore, we comprehensively characterized these cells using single-cell transcriptomics, fate mapping, confocal imaging, clonal analysis and transgenic mouse lines. Extrasinusoidal dural macrophages were clearly distinct from leptomeningeal and CNS parenchymal macrophages in terms of their origin, expansion kinetics and transcriptional profiles. Lastly, functional studies demonstrated that during autoimmune neuroinflammation, extrasinusoidal dural macrophages perform efferocytosis of granulocytes. Our results highlight a previously unappreciated myeloid cell diversity and provide insights into the brain’s innate immune system.
Project description:The meninges, comprising the leptomeninges (pia and arachnoid layers) and the pachymeninx (dura layer), participate in CNS autoimmunity but their relative contributions remain unclear. Here, we report on findings in animal models of CNS autoimmunity and in multiple sclerosis patients, where, in chronic disease, the leptomeninges were highly inflamed and showed structural changes, while the dura mater was only marginally affected. Although dural vessels were leakier than leptomeningeal vessels, effector T cells adhered more weakly to the dural endothelium. Furthermore, local antigen presenting cells presented myelin and neuronal autoantigens less efficiently and the activation of autoreactive T cells was lower in dural than leptomeningeal layers, preventing local inflammatory processes. Direct antigen application was required to evoke a local inflammatory response in the dura. Together, our data demonstrate an uneven involvement of the meningeal layers in CNS autoimmunity, in which effector T cell trafficking and activation are functionally confined to the leptomeninges, while the dura remains largely shielded from CNS autoimmune processes.
Project description:To investigate different responses of dural macrophage subsets to systemic viral infection, we collected the dura mater from mice 12 h after systemic LCMV infection and macrophages were sorted
Project description:The innate immune cell compartment is highly diverse in the healthy central nervous system (CNS) including parenchymal and non-parenchymal macrophages. However, this complexity is increased in inflammatory settings by the recruitment of circulating myeloid cells. It is unclear which disease-specific myeloid subsets exist and what their transcriptional profiles and dynamics during CNS pathology are. By combining deep single-cell transcriptome analysis, fate mapping, in vivo imaging, clonal analysis, and transgenic lines, we comprehensively characterized unappreciated myeloid subsets in several CNS compartments during neuroinflammation. During inflammation, CNS macrophage subsets undergo self-renewal, and random proliferation shifted towards clonal expansion. Finally, functional studies demonstrated that endogenous CNS tissue macrophages are redundant for antigen presentation. Our results highlight myeloid cell diversity and provide insights into the brain’s innate immune system.
Project description:Ms4a3-Cre: R26-TdTomato: Cx3cr1-gfp mice allow discrimination between YS-derivd and monocyte-derived macrophages in the brain parenchyma and leptomeninges by color. We used single cell RNAseq for RNA profiling to compare YS-derived micrglia, monocyte-derived microglia, YS-derived leptomeningeal macrophages, and monocyte-derived leptomeningeal macrophages.
Project description:To investigate cellular landscape of dural immune cells, dural immune cells from 30 P28 male mice and 30 P7 male mice were FACS sorted and single-cell RNA seqs were performed