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Rodriguez D, Church KA, Pietramale AN, Cardona SM, Vanegas D, Rorex C, Leary MC, Muzzio IA, Nash KR, Cardona AE. Fractalkine isoforms differentially regulate microglia-mediated inflammation and enhance visual function in the diabetic retina. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:42. [PMID: 38311721 PMCID: PMC10840196 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02983-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) affects about 200 million people worldwide, causing leakage of blood components into retinal tissues, leading to activation of microglia, the resident phagocytes of the retina, promoting neuronal and vascular damage. The microglial receptor, CX3CR1, binds to fractalkine (FKN), an anti-inflammatory chemokine that is expressed on neuronal membranes (mFKN), and undergoes constitutive cleavage to release a soluble domain (sFKN). Deficiencies in CX3CR1 or FKN showed increased microglial activation, inflammation, vascular damage, and neuronal loss in experimental mouse models. To understand the mechanism that regulates microglia function, recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAV) expressing mFKN or sFKN were delivered to intact retinas prior to diabetes. High-resolution confocal imaging and mRNA-seq were used to analyze microglia morphology and markers of expression, neuronal and vascular health, and inflammatory mediators. We confirmed that prophylactic intra-vitreal administration of rAAV expressing sFKN (rAAV-sFKN), but not mFKN (rAAV-mFKN), in FKNKO retinas provided vasculo- and neuro-protection, reduced microgliosis, mitigated inflammation, improved overall optic nerve health by regulating microglia-mediated inflammation, and prevented fibrin(ogen) leakage at 4 weeks and 10 weeks of diabetes induction. Moreover, administration of sFKN improved visual acuity. Our results elucidated a novel intervention via sFKN gene therapy that provides an alternative pathway to implement translational and therapeutic approaches, preventing diabetes-associated blindness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek Rodriguez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Kaira A Church
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Alicia N Pietramale
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Sandra M Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Difernando Vanegas
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Colin Rorex
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Micah C Leary
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Isabel A Muzzio
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Kevin R Nash
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Astrid E Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, UTSA Circle, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA.
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Rodriguez D, Church KA, Smith CT, Vanegas D, Cardona SM, Muzzio IA, Nash KR, Cardona AE. Therapeutic Delivery of Soluble Fractalkine Ameliorates Vascular Dysfunction in the Diabetic Retina. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1727. [PMID: 38339005 PMCID: PMC10855319 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR)-associated vision loss is a devastating disease affecting the working-age population. Retinal pathology is due to leakage of serum components into retinal tissues, activation of resident phagocytes (microglia), and vascular and neuronal damage. While short-term interventions are available, they do not revert visual function or halt disease progression. The impact of microglial inflammatory responses on the neurovascular unit remains unknown. In this study, we characterized microglia-vascular interactions in an experimental model of DR. Early diabetes presents activated retinal microglia, vascular permeability, and vascular abnormalities coupled with vascular tortuosity and diminished astrocyte and endothelial cell-associated tight-junction (TJ) and gap-junction (GJ) proteins. Microglia exclusively bind to the neuronal-derived chemokine fractalkine (FKN) via the CX3CR1 receptor to ameliorate microglial activation. Using neuron-specific recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs), we therapeutically overexpressed soluble (sFKN) or membrane-bound (mFKN) FKN using intra-vitreal delivery at the onset of diabetes. This study highlights the neuroprotective role of rAAV-sFKN, reducing microglial activation, vascular tortuosity, fibrin(ogen) deposition, and astrogliosis and supporting the maintenance of the GJ connexin-43 (Cx43) and TJ zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) molecules. The results also show that microglia-vascular interactions influence the vascular width upon administration of rAAV-sFKN and rAAV-mFKN. Administration of rAAV-sFKN improved visual function without affecting peripheral immune responses. These findings suggest that overexpression of rAAV-sFKN can mitigate vascular abnormalities by promoting glia-neural signaling. sFKN gene therapy is a promising translational approach to reverse vision loss driven by vascular dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek Rodriguez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Kaira A. Church
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Chelsea T. Smith
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Difernando Vanegas
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Sandra M. Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
| | - Isabel A. Muzzio
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;
| | - Kevin R. Nash
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA;
| | - Astrid E. Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA; (D.R.); (K.A.C.); (C.T.S.); (D.V.); (S.M.C.)
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Sen S, Udaya P, Jeya Maheshwari J, Kohli P, Parida H, Kannan NB, Ramasamy K, Dharmalingam K. Comparative proteomics of proliferative diabetic retinopathy in people with Type 2 diabetes highlights the role of inflammation, visual transduction, and extracellular matrix pathways. Indian J Ophthalmol 2023; 71:3069-3079. [PMID: 37530283 PMCID: PMC10538831 DOI: 10.4103/ijo.ijo_276_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose To explore the vitreous humor proteome from type 2 diabetes subjects with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in the Indian population. Methods We performed mass spectrometry-based label-free quantitative analysis of vitreous proteome of PDR (n = 13) and idiopathic macular hole (IMH; control) subjects (n = 14). Nine samples of PDR and 10 samples of IMH were pooled as case and control, respectively, and compared. Four samples each of PDR and IMH were analyzed individually without pooling to validate the results of the pooled analysis. Comparative quantification was performed using Scaffold software which calculated the fold changes of differential expression. Bioinformatics analysis was performed using DAVID and STRING software. Results We identified 469 proteins in PDR and 517 proteins in IMH vitreous, with an overlap of 172 proteins. Also, 297 unique proteins were identified in PDR and 345 in IMH. In PDR vitreous, 37 proteins were upregulated (P < 0.05) and 19 proteins were downregulated compared to IMH. Protein distribution analysis clearly demonstrated a separation of protein expression in PDR and IMH. Significantly upregulated proteins included fibrinogen gamma chain, fibrinogen beta chain, and carbonic anhydrase 1 and downregulated proteins included alpha-1-antitrypsin, retinol-binding protein 3, neuroserpin, cystatin C, carboxypeptidase E and cathepsin-D. Conclusion Diabetic retinopathy pathogenesis involves proteins which belong to inflammation, visual transduction, and extracellular matrix pathways. Validation-based experiments using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or western blotting are needed to establish cause and effect relationships of these proteins to the disease state, to develop them as biomarkers or drug molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagnik Sen
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Department of Proteomics, Aravind Medical Research Foundation, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Prithviraj Udaya
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Department of Proteomics, Aravind Medical Research Foundation, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Piyush Kohli
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Haemoglobin Parida
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Naresh Babu Kannan
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Kim Ramasamy
- Department of Retina and Vitreous Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
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Church KA, Rodriguez D, Mendiola AS, Vanegas D, Gutierrez IL, Tamayo I, Amadu A, Velazquez P, Cardona SM, Gyoneva S, Cotleur AC, Ransohoff RM, Kaur T, Cardona AE. Pharmacological depletion of microglia alleviates neuronal and vascular damage in the diabetic CX3CR1-WT retina but not in CX3CR1-KO or hCX3CR1 I249/M280-expressing retina. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1130735. [PMID: 37033925 PMCID: PMC10077890 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1130735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy, a microvascular disease characterized by irreparable vascular damage, neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, is a leading complication of diabetes mellitus. There is no cure for DR, and medical interventions marginally slow the progression of disease. Microglia-mediated inflammation in the diabetic retina is regulated via CX3CR1-FKN signaling, where FKN serves as a calming signal for microglial activation in several neuroinflammatory models. Polymorphic variants of CX3CR1, hCX3CR1I249/M280 , found in 25% of the human population, result in a receptor with lower binding affinity for FKN. Furthermore, disrupted CX3CR1-FKN signaling in CX3CR1-KO and FKN-KO mice leads to exacerbated microglial activation, robust neuronal cell loss and substantial vascular damage in the diabetic retina. Thus, studies to characterize the effects of hCX3CR1I249/M280 -expression in microglia-mediated inflammation in the diseased retina are relevant to identify mechanisms by which microglia contribute to disease progression. Our results show that hCX3CR1I249/M280 mice are significantly more susceptible to microgliosis and production of Cxcl10 and TNFα under acute inflammatory conditions. Inflammation is exacerbated under diabetic conditions and coincides with robust neuronal loss in comparison to CX3CR1-WT mice. Therefore, to further investigate the role of hCX3CR1I249/M280 -expression in microglial responses, we pharmacologically depleted microglia using PLX-5622, a CSF-1R antagonist. PLX-5622 treatment led to a robust (~70%) reduction in Iba1+ microglia in all non-diabetic and diabetic mice. CSF-1R antagonism in diabetic CX3CR1-WT prevented TUJ1+ axonal loss, angiogenesis and fibrinogen deposition. In contrast, PLX-5622 microglia depletion in CX3CR1-KO and hCX3CR1I249/M280 mice did not alleviate TUJ1+ axonal loss or angiogenesis. Interestingly, PLX-5622 treatment reduced fibrinogen deposition in CX3CR1-KO mice but not in hCX3CR1I249/M280 mice, suggesting that hCX3CR1I249/M280 expressing microglia influences vascular pathology differently compared to CX3CR1-KO microglia. Currently CX3CR1-KO mice are the most commonly used strain to investigate CX3CR1-FKN signaling effects on microglia-mediated inflammation and the results in this study indicate that hCX3CR1I249/M280 receptor variants may serve as a complementary model to study dysregulated CX3CR1-FKN signaling. In summary, the protective effects of microglia depletion is CX3CR1-dependent as microglia depletion in CX3CR1-KO and hCX3CR1I249/M280 mice did not alleviate retinal degeneration nor microglial morphological activation as observed in CX3CR1-WT mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaira A. Church
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Derek Rodriguez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Andrew S. Mendiola
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Difernando Vanegas
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Irene L. Gutierrez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ian Tamayo
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Abdul Amadu
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Priscila Velazquez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Sandra M. Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Stefka Gyoneva
- Human Genetics, Cerevel Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Acute Neurology, Biogen, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Richard M. Ransohoff
- Acute Neurology, Biogen, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Neurosciences, The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Neuroinflammation Research Center, The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Tejbeer Kaur
- Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Astrid E. Cardona
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
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5
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Church KA, Rodriguez D, Vanegas D, Gutierrez IL, Cardona SM, Madrigal JLM, Kaur T, Cardona AE. Models of microglia depletion and replenishment elicit protective effects to alleviate vascular and neuronal damage in the diabetic murine retina. J Neuroinflammation 2022; 19:300. [PMID: 36517889 PMCID: PMC9753268 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-022-02659-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Microglia, the resident phagocytes of the retina, are believed to influence the development of retinopathy, but their exact contributions to vascular integrity and neuronal loss are unknown. Therefore, utilizing two models of microglia depletion, we aimed to deplete and repopulate microglia to clarify the contribution of microglia to neuronal loss and vascular damage in the diabetic retina in an STZ-induced model of hyperglycemia. Here, we report that 2 weeks exposure to diphtheria toxin (DTx) in diabetic CX3CR1CreER:R26iDTR transgenic mice induced a 62% increase in Iba1+ microglia associated with an increase in TUJ1+ axonal density and prevention of NeuN+RBPMS+ neuronal loss. Conversely, diabetic PBS controls exhibited robust TUJ1+ axonal and NeuN+RBPMS+ neuronal loss compared to non-diabetic controls. A 2-week recovery period from DTx was associated with a 40% reduction in angiogenesis and an 85% reduction in fibrinogen deposition into the diabetic retina in comparison to diabetic PBS-treated controls. Analysis of microglia morphology and marker expression revealed that following a 2-week recovery period microglia displayed a P2RY12+Ly6C- phenotype and high transformation index (TI) values complimented by a ramified-surveillant morphology closely resembling non-diabetic controls. In contrast, diabetic PBS-treated control mice displayed P2RY12+Ly6C+ microglia, with a 50% reduction in TI values with an amoeboid morphology. To validate these observations were due to microglia depletion, we used PLX-5622 to assess vascular and neuronal damage in the retinas of diabetic mice. Confocal microscopy revealed that PLX-5622 also induced an increase in TUJ1+ axonal density and prevented fibrinogen extravasation into the diabetic retina. mRNAseq gene expression analysis in retinal isolates revealed that PLX-5622-induced microglia depletion and repopulation induced a downregulation in genes associated with microglial activation and phagocytosis, B2m, Cx3cr1, and Trem2, and complement-associated synaptic pruning, C1qa, C1qb, and C1qc. Although the levels of microglia depletion induced with DTx in the CX3CR1CreER:R26iDTR model and those induced with the CSF-1R antagonists are distinct, our results suggest that microglia depletion and replenishment is neuroprotective by inducing the proliferation of a homeostatic microglia pool that supports neuronal and vascular integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaira A. Church
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.215352.20000000121845633South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA
| | - Derek Rodriguez
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.215352.20000000121845633South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA
| | - Difernando Vanegas
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.215352.20000000121845633South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA
| | - Irene L. Gutierrez
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.4795.f0000 0001 2157 7667Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, CIBERSAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra M. Cardona
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.215352.20000000121845633South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA
| | - José L. M. Madrigal
- grid.4795.f0000 0001 2157 7667Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, CIBERSAM, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Tejbeer Kaur
- grid.254748.80000 0004 1936 8876Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Astrid E. Cardona
- grid.215352.20000000121845633Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA ,grid.215352.20000000121845633South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA
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