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A Microglial Function for the Nerve Growth Factor: Predictions of the Unpredictable. Cells 2022; 11:cells11111835. [PMID: 35681529 PMCID: PMC9180430 DOI: 10.3390/cells11111835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Microglia are the only immune cell population present in the brain parenchyma. Their vantage position in the central nervous system (CNS) enables these myeloid cells to perform the most disparate of tasks: from the classical immune functions of fighting infections and surveilling the extracellular space for pathogens and damage, to sculpting the neuronal circuitry by pruning unnecessary synapses and assisting neurons in spine formation, aiding in the maintenance of brain homeostasis. The neurotrophin field has always been dominated by the neurocentric view that the primary target of these molecules must be neurons: this holds true even for the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), which owes its popularity in the neuroscience community to its trophic and tropic activity towards sensory and sympathetic neurons in the peripheral nervous system, and cholinergic neurons in the CNS. The increasing evidence that microglia are an integral part of neuronal computation calls for a closer look as to whether these glial cells are capable of responding directly to NGF. In this review, we will first outline evidence in support of a role for NGF as a molecule mediating neuroimmune communication. Then, we will illustrate some of those non-immune features that have made microglial cells one of the hottest topics of this last decade. In conclusion, we will discuss evidence in support of a microglial function for NGF.
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Bridging Autism Spectrum Disorders and Schizophrenia through inflammation and biomarkers - pre-clinical and clinical investigations. J Neuroinflammation 2017; 14:179. [PMID: 28870209 PMCID: PMC5584030 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-017-0938-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, evidence supporting a link between inflammation and neuropsychiatric disorders has been mounting. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia share some clinical similarities which we hypothesize might reflect the same biological basis, namely, in terms of inflammation. However, the diagnosis of ASD and schizophrenia relies solely on clinical symptoms, and to date, there is no clinically useful biomarker to diagnose or monitor the course of such illnesses. The focus of this review is the central role that inflammation plays in ASD and schizophrenia. It spans from pre-clinical animal models to clinical research and excludes in vitro studies. Four major areas are covered: (1) microglia, the inflammatory brain resident myeloid cells, (2) biomarkers, including circulating cytokines, oxidative stress markers, and microRNA players, known to influence cellular processes at brain and immune levels, (3) effect of anti-psychotics on biomarkers and other predictors of response, and (4) impact of gender on response to immune activation, biomarkers, and response to anti-psychotic treatments.
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Yang C, Thankachan S, McCarley RW, Brown RE. The menagerie of the basal forebrain: how many (neural) species are there, what do they look like, how do they behave and who talks to whom? Curr Opin Neurobiol 2017; 44:159-166. [PMID: 28538168 PMCID: PMC5525536 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2017.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The diverse cell-types of the basal forebrain control sleep-wake states, cortical activity and reward processing. Large, slow-firing, cholinergic neurons suppress cortical delta activity and promote cortical plasticity in response to reinforcers. Large, fast-firing, cortically-projecting GABAergic neurons promote wakefulness and fast cortical activity. In particular, parvalbumin/GABAergic neurons promote neocortical gamma band activity. Conversely, excitation of slower-firing somatostatin/GABAergic neurons promotes sleep through inhibition of cortically-projecting neurons. Activation of glutamatergic neurons promotes wakefulness, likely by exciting other cortically-projecting neurons. Similarly, cholinergic neurons indirectly promote wakefulness by excitation of wake-promoting, cortically-projecting GABAergic neurons and/or inhibition of sleep-promoting somatostatin/GABAergic neurons. Both glia and neurons increase the levels of adenosine during prolonged wakefulness. Adenosine presynaptically inhibits glutamatergic inputs to wake-promoting cholinergic and GABAergic/parvalbumin neurons, promoting sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Yang
- Psychiatry, VA BHS and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, USA
| | - Stephen Thankachan
- Psychiatry, VA BHS and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, USA
| | - Robert W McCarley
- Psychiatry, VA BHS and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, USA.
| | - Ritchie E Brown
- Psychiatry, VA BHS and Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, USA.
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Smolders S, Smolders SMT, Swinnen N, Gärtner A, Rigo JM, Legendre P, Brône B. Maternal immune activation evoked by polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid does not evoke microglial cell activation in the embryo. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:301. [PMID: 26300736 PMCID: PMC4525016 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have indicated that inflammation during pregnancy increases the risk for the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in the offspring. Morphological brain abnormalities combined with deviations in the inflammatory status of the brain can be observed in patients of both autism and schizophrenia. It was shown that acute infection can induce changes in maternal cytokine levels which in turn are suggested to affect fetal brain development and increase the risk on the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in the offspring. Animal models of maternal immune activation reproduce the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. In this study the poly (I:C) model was used to mimic viral immune activation in pregnant mice in order to assess the activation status of fetal microglia in these developmental disorders. Because microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain they were expected to be activated due to the inflammatory stimulus. Microglial cell density and activation level in the fetal cortex and hippocampus were determined. Despite the presence of a systemic inflammation in the pregnant mice, there was no significant difference in fetal microglial cell density or immunohistochemically determined activation level between the control and inflammation group. These data indicate that activation of the fetal microglial cells is not likely to be responsible for the inflammation induced deficits in the offspring in this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Smolders
- BIOMED - Hasselt University Hasselt, Belgium ; Laboratory of Neuronal Differentiation, VIB Center for the Biology of Disease, Leuven and Center for Human Genetics, KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sophie M T Smolders
- BIOMED - Hasselt University Hasselt, Belgium ; INSERM, UMR S 1130, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France ; CNRS, UMR 8246, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France ; UM 119 NPS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | | | - Annette Gärtner
- Laboratory of Neuronal Differentiation, VIB Center for the Biology of Disease, Leuven and Center for Human Genetics, KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Pascal Legendre
- INSERM, UMR S 1130, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France ; CNRS, UMR 8246, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France ; UM 119 NPS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | - Bert Brône
- BIOMED - Hasselt University Hasselt, Belgium
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Karami A, Eyjolfsdottir H, Vijayaraghavan S, Lind G, Almqvist P, Kadir A, Linderoth B, Andreasen N, Blennow K, Wall A, Westman E, Ferreira D, Kristoffersen Wiberg M, Wahlund LO, Seiger Å, Nordberg A, Wahlberg L, Darreh-Shori T, Eriksdotter M. Changes in CSF cholinergic biomarkers in response to cell therapy with NGF in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement 2015; 11:1316-28. [PMID: 25676388 DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Revised: 09/26/2014] [Accepted: 11/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The extensive loss of central cholinergic functions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain is linked to impaired nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling. The cardinal cholinergic biomarker is the acetylcholine synthesizing enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), which has recently been found in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The purpose of this study was to see if EC-NGF therapy will alter CSF levels of cholinergic biomarkers, ChAT, and acetylcholinesterase. METHOD Encapsulated cell implants releasing NGF (EC-NGF) were surgically implanted bilaterally in the basal forebrain of six AD patients for 12 months and cholinergic markers in CSF were analyzed. RESULTS Activities of both enzymes were altered after 12 months. In particular, the activity of soluble ChAT showed high correlation with cognition, CSF tau and amyloid-β, in vivo cerebral glucose utilization and nicotinic binding sites, and morphometric and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging measures. DISCUSSION A clear pattern of association is demonstrated showing a proof-of-principle effect on CSF cholinergic markers, suggestive of a beneficial EC-NGF implant therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Karami
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helga Eyjolfsdottir
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Swetha Vijayaraghavan
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Göran Lind
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Per Almqvist
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ahmadul Kadir
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bengt Linderoth
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niels Andreasen
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, University of Göteborg, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Anders Wall
- Nuclear medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - Eric Westman
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Daniel Ferreira
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maria Kristoffersen Wiberg
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lars-Olof Wahlund
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Agneta Nordberg
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Taher Darreh-Shori
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Maria Eriksdotter
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Geriatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Pratt L, Ni L, Ponzio NM, Jonakait GM. Maternal inflammation promotes fetal microglial activation and increased cholinergic expression in the fetal basal forebrain: role of interleukin-6. Pediatr Res 2013; 74:393-401. [PMID: 23877071 DOI: 10.1038/pr.2013.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 04/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Perinatal exposure to infectious agents with associated maternal immune activation (MIA) leads to neuroanatomical and behavioral dysregulation reminiscent of autism spectrum disorders. Persistent microglial activation as well as increased choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the basal forebrain (BF) are characteristic of autistic subjects. Previous studies have shown that medium from activated microglia promotes cholinergic differentiation of precursors in the BF. We sought to determine whether MIA in vivo would lead to a similar effect on developing BF neurons. METHODS Pregnant mice were treated with the viral mimic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) or saline. RESULTS Poly(I:C) treatment resulted in increased production of cytokines and chemokines in fetal microglia and increased ChAT activity and cholinergic cell number in the perinatal BF. Whether microglial activation causes these changes is unclear. Examination of fetal brains from mice lacking interleukin-6 (IL-6 KOs) revealed an elevation in non-microglial-derived cytokines and chemokines over wild-type controls. Moreover, IL-6 KO offspring showed an elevation of ChAT activity even in the absence of poly(I:C) administration. CONCLUSION These data suggest that elevations in cytokines and/or chemokines caused either by maternal poly(I:C) administration or by the absence of IL-6 are associated with alterations in cholinergic development in the BF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorelei Pratt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder diagnosed based on the presence and severity of core abnormalities in social communication and repetitive behavior, yet several studies converge on immune dysregulation as a feature of ASD. Widespread alterations in immune molecules and responses are seen in the brains and periphery of ASD individuals, and early life immune disruptions are associated with ASD. This chapter discusses immune-related environmental and genetic risk factors for ASD, emphasizing population-wide studies and animal research that reveal potential mechanistic pathways involved in the development of ASD-related symptoms. It further reviews immunologic pathologies seen in ASD individuals and how such abnormalities can impact neurodevelopment and behavior. Finally, it evaluates emerging evidence for an immune contribution to the pathogenesis of ASD and a potential role for immunomodulatory effects in current treatments for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Y Hsiao
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
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