Evidence of Beta-blocker, Propranolol, Inhibiting Microglial Activation, an Effect Specific to Microglial Cells, but Not to Astrocytes

Abstract Background Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) as a mediator of microglial activation at the transcriptional level may facilitate nociceptive signaling. Trimethylation of H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) by enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is an epigenetic mark that regulates inflammatory-related gene expression after peripheral nerve injury. In this study, we explored the relationship between CGRP and H3K27me3 in microglial activation after nerve injury, and elucidated the underlying mechanisms in the pathogenesis of chronic neuropathic pain. Methods Microglial cells (BV2) were treated with CGRP and differentially enrichments of H3K27me3 on gene promoters were examined using ChIP-seq. A chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model was used to evaluate the role of CGRP on microglial activation and EZH2/H3K27me3 signaling in CCI-induced neuropathic pain. Results Overexpressions of EZH2 and H3K27me3 were confirmed in spinal microglia of CCI rats by immunofluorescence. CGRP treatment induced the increased of H3K27me3 expression in the spinal dorsal horn and cultured microglial cells (BV2) through EZH2. ChIP-seq data indicated that CGRP significantly altered H3K27me3 enrichments on gene promoters in microglia following CGRP treatment, including 173 gaining H3K27me3 and 75 losing this mark, which mostly enriched in regulation of cell growth, phagosome, and inflammation. qRT-PCR verified expressions of representative candidate genes (TRAF3IP2, BCL2L11, ITGAM, DAB2, NLRP12, WNT3, ADAM10) and real-time cell analysis (RTCA) verified microglial proliferation. Additionally, CGRP treatment and CCI increased expressions of ITGAM, ADAM10, MCP-1, and CX3CR1, key mediators of microglial activation in spinal dorsal horn and cultured microglial cells. Such increased effects induced by CCI were suppressed by CGRP antagonist and EZH2 inhibitor, which were concurrently associated with the attenuated mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in CCI rats. Conclusion Our findings highly indicate that CGRP is implicated in the genesis of neuropathic pain through regulating microglial activation via EZH2-mediated H3K27me3 in the spinal dorsal horn.

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Differential Effects of Toll-Like Receptor Activation and Differential Mediation by MAP Kinases of Immune Responses in Microglial Cells

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology ◽

10.1007/s10571-021-01127-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jaedeok Kwon ◽

Christos Arsenis ◽

Maria Suessmilch ◽

Alison McColl ◽

Jonathan Cavanagh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Map Kinase ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Map Kinases ◽

Mrna Level ◽

Cell Types ◽

Receptor Activation ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Toll Like Receptor ◽

Disease States ◽

Nitrite Production

AbstractMicroglial activation is believed to play a role in many psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Based largely on evidence from other cell types, it is widely thought that MAP kinase (ERK, JNK and p38) signalling pathways contribute strongly to microglial activation following immune stimuli acting on toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 or TLR4. We report here that exposure of SimA9 mouse microglial cell line to immune mimetics stimulating TLR4 (lipopolysaccharide—LPS) or TLR7/8 (resiquimod/R848), results in marked MAP kinase activation, followed by induction of nitric oxide synthase, and various cytokines/chemokines. However, in contrast to TLR4 or TLR7/8 stimulation, very few effects of TLR3 stimulation by poly-inosine/cytidine (polyI:C) were detected. Induction of chemokines/cytokines at the mRNA level by LPS and resiquimod were, in general, only marginally affected by MAP kinase inhibition, and expression of TNF, Ccl2 and Ccl5 mRNAs, along with nitrite production, were enhanced by p38 inhibition in a stimulus-specific manner. Selective JNK inhibition enhanced Ccl2 and Ccl5 release. Many distinct responses to stimulation of TLR4 and TLR7 were observed, with JNK mediating TNF protein induction by the latter but not the former, and suppressing Ccl5 release by the former but not the latter. These data reveal complex modulation by MAP kinases of microglial responses to immune challenge, including a dampening of some responses. They demonstrate that abnormal levels of JNK or p38 signalling in microglial cells will perturb their profile of cytokine and chemokine release, potentially contributing to abnormal inflammatory patterns in CNS disease states.

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Lipopolysaccharide induces neuroinflammation in microglia by activating the MTOR pathway and downregulating Vps34 to inhibit autophagosome formation

Journal of Neuroinflammation ◽

10.1186/s12974-019-1644-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Xiaoxia Ye ◽

Mingming Zhu ◽

Xiaohang Che ◽

Huiyang Wang ◽

Xing-Jie Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inflammatory Response ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Adaptor Protein ◽

Mtor Pathway ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Inflammatory Factors ◽

Intraventricular Injection ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Autophagic Flux

Abstract Background Microglial activation is a prominent feature of neuroinflammation, which is present in almost all neurodegenerative diseases. While an initial inflammatory response mediated by microglia is considered to be protective, excessive pro-inflammatory response of microglia contributes to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. Although autophagy is involved in the suppression of inflammation, its role and mechanism in microglia are unclear. Methods In the present study, we studied the mechanism by which lipopolysaccharide (LPS) affects microglial autophagy and the effects of autophagy on the production of pro-inflammatory factors in microglial cells by western blotting, immunocytochemistry, transfection, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and real-time PCR. In a mouse model of neuroinflammation, generated by intraventricular injection of LPS (5 μg/animal), we induced autophagy by rapamycin injection and investigated the effects of enhanced autophagy on microglial activation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry. Results We found that autophagic flux was suppressed in LPS-stimulated N9 microglial cells, as evidenced by decreased expression of the autophagy marker LC3-II (lipidated form of MAP1LC3), as well as increased levels of the autophagy adaptor protein SQSTM1. LPS significantly decreased Vps34 expression in N9 microglial cells by activating the PI3KI/AKT/MTOR pathway without affecting the levels of lysosome-associated proteins and enzymes. More importantly, overexpression of Vps34 significantly enhanced the autophagic flux and decreased the accumulation of SQSTM1 in LPS-stimulated N9 microglial cells. Moreover, our results revealed that an LPS-induced reduction in the level of Vps34 prevented the maturation of omegasomes to phagophores. Furthermore, LPS-induced neuroinflammation was significantly ameliorated by treatment with the autophagy inducer rapamycin both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions These data reveal that LPS-induced neuroinflammation in N9 microglial cells is associated with the inhibition of autophagic flux through the activation of the PI3KI/AKT/MTOR pathway, while enhanced microglial autophagy downregulates LPS-induced neuroinflammation. Thus, this study suggests that promoting the early stages of autophagy might be a potential therapeutic approach for neuroinflammation-associated diseases.

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Astrocyte-Derived CCL2 is Associated with M1 Activation and Recruitment of Cultured Microglial Cells

Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1159/000443040 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 859-870 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Mingfeng He ◽

Hongquan Dong ◽

Yahui Huang ◽

Shunmei Lu ◽

Shu Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Culture Media ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Migration Ability ◽

Migration Assay ◽

Tnf Α

Background/Aims: Microglia are an essential player in central nervous system inflammation. Recent studies have demonstrated that the astrocytic chemokine, CCL2, is associated with microglial activation in vivo. However, CCL2-induced microglial activation has not yet been studied in vitro. The purpose of the current study was to understand the role of astrocyte-derived CCL2 in microglial activation and to elucidate the underlying mechanism(s). Methods: Primary astrocytes were pre-treated with CCL2 siRNA and stimulated with TNF-α. The culture medium (CM) was collected and added to cultures of microglia, which were incubated with and without CCR2 inhibitor. Microglial cells were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR to determine whether they polarized to the M1 or M2 state. Microglial migratory ability was assessed by transwell migration assay. Results: TNF-α stimulated the release of CCL2 from astrocytes, even if the culture media containing TNF-α was replaced with fresh media after 3 h. CM from TNF-α-stimulated astrocytes successfully induced microglial activation, which was ascertained by increased activation of M1 and enhanced migration ability. In contrast, CM from astrocytes pretreated with CCL2 siRNA showed no effect on microglial activation, compared to controls. Additionally, microglia pre-treated with RS102895, a CCR2 inhibitor, were resistant to activation by CM from TNF-α-stimulated astrocytes. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the CCL2/CCR2 pathway of astrocyte-induced microglial activation is associated with M1 polarization and enhanced migration ability, indicating that this pathway could be a useful target to ameliorate inflammation in the central nervous system.

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Abstract W P222: Activated Microglia Contribute to Neurovascular Integrity and Limit Brain Injury After Acute Neonatal Focal Stroke

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.45.suppl_1.wp222 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

David Fernández-López ◽

Joel Faustino ◽

Alexander Klibanov ◽

Nikita Derugin ◽

katerina Akassoglou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Infarct Volume ◽

Artery Occlusion ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Vascular Density ◽

Relative Role ◽

Morphological Transformation ◽

Activated Microglia

It has been recently shown that microglial cells, which for a long time were considered purely injurious in the context of cerebral ischemia, can also exert beneficial effects following stroke in both adults and neonates1,2. Lack of tools to reliably distinguish resident microglia from infiltrated peripheral monocytes has been a major obstacle on the way to understand the relative role of these subpopulations of cells of the monocyte lineage in the pathophysiology of stroke. We subjected postnatal day 10 (P10) transgenic Cx3cr1GFP/-CCr2RFP/- mice, in which resident microglia (Cx3cr1GFP) and infiltrating monocytes (CCr2RFP) can be distinctively identified, to a transient 3 hour middle cerebral artery occlusion MCAO, a model that we recently developed3. Microglial cells were left unperturbed or were selectively depleted before MCAO by intracortical injection of clodronate-encapsulated liposomes. Depletion of microglia exacerbated injury and significantly increased infarct volume (75.9% Vs. 56.3%, p<0.01). Furthermore, compared to mice with unperturbed microglia, depletion of microglia significantly increased the number of hemorrhages in injured regions, adversely affected vascular density and decreased the number of both adherent and infiltrated monocytes. The extent of RFP+ monocyte adhesion to vessels and infiltration in the brain parenchyma was highly variable among individual mice and did not correlate with brain infarct, whereas a significant correlation between the overall extent of microglial activation (measured by morphological transformation) and the number of infiltrated monocytes was observed. The deleterious effect of microglial depletion on vascular integrity and function and on brain injury indicates that activated microglia act as a buffering component that limits vascular degeneration and injury severity after neonatal stroke. Our data also suggest a direct and dynamic relationship between microglial activation and monocyte recruitment into acutely reperfused neonatal brain. Support: NS55915 (ZV), NS76726 (ZV), NS080015 (ZS, KA), AHA POST10980003 (DFL). 1. Faustino J et al. J Neurosci. 2011. 2. Lalancette-Hebert M et al. J Neurosci. 2007. 3. Woo MS et al. Annals of Neurology. 2012.

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Oxytocin inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in microglial cells and attenuates microglial activation in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice

Journal of Neuroinflammation ◽

10.1186/s12974-016-0541-7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Lin Yuan ◽

Song Liu ◽

Xuemei Bai ◽

Yan Gao ◽

Guangheng Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microglial Activation ◽

Microglial Cells

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SOCS1 Mediates Berberine-Induced Amelioration of Microglial Activated States in N9 Microglia Exposed to β Amyloid

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2021/9311855 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Qi Guo ◽

Chen Wang ◽

Xiaorong Xue ◽

Bin Hu ◽

He Bao

Keyword(s):

Neurotrophic Factor ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Cytokine Signaling ◽

Arginase 1 ◽

Inos Protein Expression ◽

Activated State ◽

Β Amyloid ◽

Factor Α

Attenuating β amyloid- (Aβ-) induced microglial activation is considered to be effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Berberine (BBR) can reduce microglial activation in Aβ-treated microglial cells; the mechanism, however, is still illusive. Silencing of cytokine signaling factor 1 (SOCS1) is the primary regulator of many cytokines involved in immune reactions, whose upregulation can reverse the activation of microglial cells. Microglia could be activated into two different statuses, classic activated state (M1 state) and alternative activated state (M2 state), and M1 state is harmful, but M2 is beneficial. In the present study, N9 microglial cells were exposed to Aβ to imitate microglial activation in AD. And Western blot and immunocytochemistry were taken to observe inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Arginase-1 (Arg-1), and SOCS1 expressions, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure inflammatory and neurotrophic factor release. Compared with the normal cultured control cells, Aβ exposure markedly increased the level of microglial M1 state markers ( P < 0.05 ), including iNOS protein expression, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 releases, and BBR administration upregulated SOSC1 expression and the level of microglial M2 state markers ( P < 0.05 ), such as Arg-1 expression, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) releases, downregulating the SOCS1 expression by using siRNA, however, significantly reversed the BBR-induced effects on microglial M1 and M2 state markers and SOCS1 expression ( P < 0.05 ). These findings indicated that BBR can inhibit Aβ-induced microglial activation via modulating the microglial M1/M2 activated state, and SOCS1 mediates the process.

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Rapid Morphologic and Molecular Activation of Microglial Cells by Stimulation of the P2X7 Receptor Correlates with Neuron Loss

10.21203/rs.3.rs-424697/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Keith E Campagno ◽

Wennan Lu ◽

Assraa Hassan Jassim ◽

Farraj Albalawi ◽

Aurora Cenaj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Body ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Mechanical Strain ◽

Atp Release ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Microglial Migration ◽

Process Retraction

Abstract Background: The endogenous signals leading to microglial activation represent central components of neuroinflammatory cascades. Given ATP release accompanies mechanical strain to neural tissue, and the P2X7R for ATP is expressed on microglial cells, we examined the morphological and molecular consequences of P2X7R stimulation in vivo and in vitro in detail to enhance understanding of the response. Methods: IL-1β release was determined with ELISA. Expression of mRNA used qPCR. ATP release was determined with the luciferin/luciferase assay while fura-2 indicated cytoplasmic calcium. Microglial migration used Boyden chambers. Morphological changes were quantified from Iba1-immunostained cells. Results: Sholl analysis of Iba1-stained cells showed retraction of microglial ramifications one day after injection of P2X7R agonist BzATP into mouse retinae. Mean branch length also decreased, while cell body size and expression of Nos2, Tnfa, Arg1, Chil3 increased. BzATP induced similar morphological changes in ex vivo tissue isolated from Cx3CR1-GFP mice, suggesting cell recruitment was unnecessary. Primary microglial cultures were developed to investigate the autonomous nature of the response. Isolated microglial cells expressed P2X7R, while increased intracellular Ca 2+ triggered by BzATP and blocked by antagonist A839977 confirmed functional expression. BzATP induced process retraction and cell body enlargement within minutes in isolated microglial cells, and increased expression of Nos2 and Arg1 . BzATP both increased expression of IL-1β, and triggered a substantial release, suggesting P2X7R both primes and activates the NLRP3 inflammasome. ATP increased microglial migration, but this required P2Y12R, not P2X7R involvement. As ATP release often accompanies mechanical strain, responses to intraocular pressure elevation were determined. Transient elevation increased ATP release and led to microglial process retraction, cell body enlargement and gene upregulation resembling the responses to BzATP injection. These pressure-dependent changes to microglia were reduced in P2X7R -/- mice. Critically, the loss of retinal ganglion cell neurons accompanying increased pressure was correlated with microglial activation in C57Bl/6J, but not P2X7R -/- mice.Conclusions: P2X7R stimulation induced morphological and molecular markers of activation in retinal microglial cells in vivo and in vitro , affecting IL-1β release and rapid process retraction but not cell migration. Parallel responses accompanied transient pressure elevation, suggesting ATP release and P2X7R stimulation contribute to the microglial response to rising pressure.

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Involvement of Epigenetic Promoter DNA Methylation of miR-124 in the Pathogenesis of HIV-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

Epigenetics Insights ◽

10.1177/2516865718806904 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 251686571880690 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shilpa Buch ◽

Palsamy Periyasamy ◽

Minglei Guo

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Viral Proteins ◽

Neurocognitive Disorders ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Adjunctive Treatment ◽

Viral Reservoirs ◽

Stat3 Signaling ◽

Promoter Dna ◽

Hiv 1

Despite the efficacy of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in controlling viremia, the central nervous system (CNS) continues to harbor viral reservoirs. The persistence of low-level virus replication leads to the accumulation of early viral proteins, including HIV-1 Transactivator of transcription (HIV-1 Tat) protein. Based on the premise that cART does not impact levels of HIV-1 Tat, and since the CNS is inaccessible to the cART regimens, HIV-1-Tat-mediated neuroinflammation has been implicated as an underlying mediator of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The mechanism(s) underlying the pathogenesis of HAND, however, remain less understood. Understanding the epigenetic/molecular mechanism(s) by which viral proteins such as HIV-1 Tat activate microglia is thus of paramount importance. The study published by Periyasamy et al provides new mechanistic insights into the role of HIV-1-Tat-mediated DNA methylation of miR-124 promoter in regulating microglial activation via the MECP2-STAT3 signaling axis. Furthermore, the authors have also reported that exposure of mouse primary microglial cells to HIV-1 Tat notably increased DNA methylation of primary miR-124-1 and primary miR-124-2 promoters (with no change in primary miR-124-3), resulting in turn to downregulated expression of both primary miR-124-1 and primary miR-124-2 as well as mature miR-124 in mouse primary microglial cells. The authors also examined the involvement of MECP2-STAT3 signaling in HIV-1-Tat-mediated microglial activation. Based on these novel findings, it is evident that dysregulation of miR-124 is involved in the pathogenesis of HAND and that restoration of miR-124 could serve as an adjunctive treatment for dampening neuroinflammation associated with HAND.

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Early glycolytic reprogramming controls microglial inflammatory activation

Journal of Neuroinflammation ◽

10.1186/s12974-021-02187-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Junjie Cheng ◽

Rong Zhang ◽

Zhirou Xu ◽

Youliang Ke ◽

Renjuan Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Blot ◽

Microglial Activation ◽

Nuclear Factor Kappa B ◽

Microglial Cells ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Nuclear Factor ◽

Nuclear Factor Kappa ◽

Inflammatory Activation ◽

Glycolysis Inhibitors ◽

Anti Inflammatory

Abstract Background Microglial activation-mediated neuroinflammation plays an important role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Inflammatory activation of microglial cells is often accompanied by a metabolic switch from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis. However, the roles and molecular mechanisms of glycolysis in microglial activation and neuroinflammation are not yet fully understood. Methods The anti-inflammatory effects and its underlying mechanisms of glycolytic inhibition in vitro were examined in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activated BV-2 microglial cells or primary microglial cells by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot, immunoprecipitation, flow cytometry, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) luciferase reporter assays. The anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of glycolytic inhibitor, 2-deoxoy-d-glucose (2-DG) in vivo were measured in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-or LPS-induced Parkinson’s disease (PD) models by immunofluorescence staining, behavior tests, and Western blot analysis. Results We found that LPS rapidly increased glycolysis in microglial cells, and glycolysis inhibitors (2-DG and 3-bromopyruvic acid (3-BPA)), siRNA glucose transporter type 1 (Glut-1), and siRNA hexokinase (HK) 2 abolished LPS-induced microglial cell activation. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that glycolysis inhibitors significantly inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), an inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappa B kinase subunit beta (IKKβ), and NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IκB-α), degradation of IκBα, nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-κB, and NF-κB transcriptional activity. In addition, 2-DG significantly inhibited LPS-induced acetylation of p65/RelA on lysine 310, which is mediated by NAD-dependent protein deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and is critical for NF-κB activation. A coculture study revealed that 2-DG reduced the cytotoxicity of activated microglia toward MES23.5 dopaminergic neuron cells with no direct protective effect. In an LPS-induced PD model, 2-DG significantly ameliorated neuroinflammation and subsequent tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive cell loss. Furthermore, 2-DG also reduced dopaminergic cell death and microglial activation in the MPTP-induced PD model. Conclusions Collectively, our results suggest that glycolysis is actively involved in microglial activation. Inhibition of glycolysis can ameliorate microglial activation-related neuroinflammatory diseases.

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