Treatment of aging rats for 6 months with ladostigil (1 mg/kg/day) prevented a decline in recognition and spatial memory and suppressed the overexpression of gene-encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNFα, IL1β, and IL6 in the brain and microglial cultures. Primary cultures of mouse microglia stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS, 0.75 µg/mL) and benzoyl ATPs (BzATP) were used to determine the concentration of ladostigil that reduces the secretion of these cytokine proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Myelin that surrounds axons breaks in trauma and disease; e.g., peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries (PNI and SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe primary role of microglia is to maintain homeostasis by effectively responding to various disturbances. Activation of transcriptional programs determines the microglia's response to external stimuli. In this study, we stimulated murine neonatal microglial cells with benzoyl ATP (bzATP) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and monitored their ability to release pro-inflammatory cytokines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recovery of function from traumatic nerve injury depends on the ability of severed axons to grow/regenerate back to their target tissues. This is achieved by successfully crossing the lesion site where physical impact severed axons, determined by the type of trauma, followed by successfully growing throughout the Wallerian degenerating nerve segment located distal to and beyond the lesion site, determined by the nature of Wallerian degeneration. The protracted removal of myelin debris in Wallerian degeneration, which leads residual myelin debris to slow down axon growth, impedes recovery of function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyelin surrounding central nervous system (CNS) axons breaks down in multiple sclerosis (MS) and following traumatic axonal injury. Myelin-debris so produced is harmful to repair since it impedes remyelination in MS and the regeneration of traumatized axons. These devastating outcomes are largely due to inefficient removal by phagocytosis of myelin-debris by microglia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe innate immune function of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells, tissue debris, pathogens, and cancer cells is essential for homeostasis, tissue repair, fighting infection, and combating malignancy. Phagocytosis is carried out in the central nervous system (CNS) by resident microglia and in both CNS and peripheral nervous system by recruited macrophages. While phagocytosis proceeds, bystander healthy cells protect themselves by sending a "do not eat me" message to phagocytes as CD47 on their surface ligates immune inhibitory receptor SIRPα on the surface of phagocytes and SIRPα then produces the signaling which inhibits phagocytosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intact myelin, which normally surrounds axons, breaks down in Wallerian degeneration following axonal injury and during neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Clearance of degenerated myelin by phagocytosis is essential since myelin impedes repair and exacerbates damage. CR3 (complement receptor-3) is a principal phagocytic receptor in myelin phagocytosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traumatic injury to axons produces breakdown of axons and myelin at the site of the lesion and then further distal to this where Wallerian degeneration develops. The rapid removal of degenerated myelin by phagocytosis is advantageous for repair since molecules in myelin impede regeneration of severed axons. Thus, revealing mechanisms that regulate myelin phagocytosis by macrophages and microglia is important.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA major innate immune function of microglia in the central nervous system is receptor-mediated phagocytosis of tissue debris and pathogens. We studied how phagocytosis of degenerated myelin (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCentral nervous system (CNS) microglia (MG) and peripheral tissue macrophages (MO) remove pathogens by phagocytosis. Zymosan, a model yeast pathogen, is a beta-glucan rich particle that readily activates the complement system and then becomes C3bi-opsonized (op). Complement receptor-3 (CR3) has initially been implicated in mediating the phagocytosis of both C3bi-op and non-opsonized (nop) zymosan by MO through C3bi and beta-glucan binding sites, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe removal of degenerated myelin is essential for repair in Wallerian degeneration that follows traumatic injury to axons and in autoimmune demyelinating diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplement-receptor-3 (CR3/MAC-1), scavenger-receptor-AI/II (SRAI/II), and Fcgamma-receptor (FcgammaR) can mediate myelin phagocytosis in macrophages and microglia. Paradoxically, after injury to CNS axons these receptors are expressed but myelin is not phagocytosed, suggesting that phagocytosis is subject to regulation between efficient and inefficient states. In the present work, we focus on CR3/MAC-1 and SRAI/II-mediated myelin phagocytosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe removal by phagocytosis of degenerated myelin is central for repair in Wallerian degeneration that follows traumatic injury to axons and in autoimmune demyelinating diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReducing the blood supply of tumors is one modality to combat cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate such an approach in the treatment of localized murine AML (acute myelogenous leukemia). For this purpose we designed an experimental model in which leukemic cells were embedded in 1% agar discs before subcutaneous implantation in C57Bl female mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplement-receptor-3 (CR3/MAC-1), scavenger-receptor-AI/II (SRAI/II) and Fcgamma-receptor (FcgammaR) can mediate phagocytosis of degenerated myelin in macrophages and microglia. However, CR3/MAC-1 and SRAI/II, but not FcgammaR, mediate phagocytosis after axonal injury. We tested for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase-Cgamma (PLCgamma) and protein kinase-C (PKC) signaling in myelin phagocytosis mediated by CR3/MAC-1 alone and by CR3/MAC-1 combined with SRAI/II.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe hematopoietic factor and inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF is involved in PNS and CNS injury and disease, and in macrophage and microglia function regulation. We presently document that injury to PNS axons induces in vivo production of GM-CSF-inhibitor and GM-CSF-augmenter activities. GM-CSF-inhibitor activity was detected in extract and conditioned medium (CM) of injured PNS but not in extract of intact PNS, and was removed from CM by GM-CSF affinity chromatography, suggesting it is carried by a secreted GM-CSF binding molecule.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroglia and macrophages express the alpha(M)/beta(2) integrin complement-receptor-3 (CR3/MAC-1; CD11b/CD18) and scavenger-receptor-AI/II (SRAI/II). Both can mediate myelin phagocytosis. We document that CR3/MAC-1 mediated myelin phagocytosis in microglia is modulated by complement and anti-CR3/MAC-1 mAbs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWallerian degeneration (WD) is the inflammatory response of the nervous system to axonal injury, primarily attributable to the production of cytokines, the mediator molecules of inflammation. We presently document the involvement of the inflammatory cytokines TNFalpha, interleukin (IL)-1alpha, and IL-1beta in peripheral nerve (PNS) injury in C57/BL/6NHSD (C57/BL) mice that display the normal rapid progression of WD (rapid-WD) and C57/BL/6-WLD/OLA/NHSD mice that display abnormal slow progression of WD (slow-WD). TNFalpha and IL-1alpha mRNAs were expressed, whereas TNFalpha but not IL-1alpha protein was synthesized in intact PNS of C57/BL mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF