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Munro D, Wang T, Chitre AS, Polesskaya O, Ehsan N, Gao J, Gusev A, Woods LS, Saba L, Chen H, Palmer A, Mohammadi P. The regulatory landscape of multiple brain regions in outbred heterogeneous stock rats. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:10882-10895. [PMID: 36263809 PMCID: PMC9638908 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneous Stock (HS) rats are a genetically diverse outbred rat population that is widely used for studying genetics of behavioral and physiological traits. Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) associated with transcriptional changes would help to identify mechanisms underlying these traits. We generated genotype and transcriptome data for five brain regions from 88 HS rats. We identified 21 392 cis-QTLs associated with expression and splicing changes across all five brain regions and validated their effects using allele specific expression data. We identified 80 cases where eQTLs were colocalized with genome-wide association study (GWAS) results from nine physiological traits. Comparing our dataset to human data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, we found that the HS rat data yields twice as many significant eQTLs as a similarly sized human dataset. We also identified a modest but highly significant correlation between genetic regulatory variation among orthologous genes. Surprisingly, we found less genetic variation in gene regulation in HS rats relative to humans, though we still found eQTLs for the orthologs of many human genes for which eQTLs had not been found. These data are available from the RatGTEx data portal (RatGTEx.org) and will enable new discoveries of the genetic influences of complex traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Munro
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA,Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Tengfei Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science and Toxicology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Apurva S Chitre
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Oksana Polesskaya
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nava Ehsan
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jianjun Gao
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Gusev
- Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Leah C Solberg Woods
- Section of Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Laura M Saba
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science and Toxicology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Abraham A Palmer
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Abraham A. Palmer. Tel: +1 858 534 2093;
| | - Pejman Mohammadi
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 858 784 8746;
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2
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Reyes EY, Shinohara ML. Host immune responses in the central nervous system during fungal infections. Immunol Rev 2022; 311:50-74. [PMID: 35672656 PMCID: PMC9489659 DOI: 10.1111/imr.13101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Fungal infections in the central nervous system (CNS) cause high morbidity and mortality. The frequency of CNS mycosis has increased over the last two decades as more individuals go through immunocompromised conditions for various reasons. Nevertheless, options for clinical interventions for CNS mycoses are still limited. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand the host-pathogen interaction mechanisms in CNS mycoses for developing novel treatments. Although the CNS has been regarded as an immune-privileged site, recent studies demonstrate the critical involvement of immune responses elicited by CNS-resident and CNS-infiltrated cells during fungal infections. In this review, we discuss mechanisms of fungal invasion in the CNS, fungal pathogen detection by CNS-resident cells (microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, neurons), roles of CNS-infiltrated leukocytes, and host immune responses. We consider that understanding host immune responses in the CNS is crucial for endeavors to develop treatments for CNS mycosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estefany Y. Reyes
- Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA
| | - Mari L. Shinohara
- Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA
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3
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Zhang Y, Wei H, Fan L, Fang M, He X, Lu B, Pang Z. CLEC4s as Potential Therapeutic Targets in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Microenvironment. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:681372. [PMID: 34409028 PMCID: PMC8367378 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.681372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is critical in tumor development. C-type (Ca2+ -dependent) lectin (CLEC) receptors, essential in innate pattern recognition, have potential regulatory effects on immune cell trafficking and modulatory effects on cancer cell activity. However, information on the expression and prognostic value of CLECs in HCC is scanty. Herein, we explored the potential role of CLECs in HCC based on TCGA, ONCOMINE, GEPIA, UALCAN, cBioPortal, Metascape, TRRUST, and TIMER databases. Results demonstrated a significantly higher mRNA level of CLEC4A and CLEC4L in HCC tissues than normal liver tissues. Contrarily, we found significantly low CLEC4G/H1/H2/M expression in HCC tissues. The IHC analysis revealed the following: Absence of CLEC4A/J/K/M in normal and liver cancer tissues; high CLEC4C expression in HCC tissues; low expression and zero detection of CLEC4D/E/H1/H2/L in HCC tissues and normal tissues, respectively. And the HepG2 and LX-2 were used to verify the expression level of CLEC4s via qRT-PCR in vitro. Furthermore, the expression of CLEC4H1 (ASGR1) and CLEC4H2 (ASGR2) exhibited a significant relation to clinical stages. However, the expression of CLEC4A, CLEC4D, CLEC4E, CLEC4J (FCER2), CLEC4K (CD207), CLEC4G, CLEC4H1, CLEC4M, and CLEC4H2 decreased with tumor progression. Patients expressing higher CLEC4H1/H2 levels had longer overall survival than patients exhibiting lower expression. Moreover, CLEC4A/D/E/J/K/G/H1/M/H2 had significant down-regulated levels of promoter methylation. The expression level of CLEC4s was correlated with the infiltration of B cells, CD8 + T cells, CD4 + T cells, macrophage cells, neutrophil cells, and dendritic cells. Functional analysis revealed the potential role of CLECL4s in virus infection, including COVID-19. Also, hsa-miR-4278 and hsa-miR-324-5p, two potential miRNA targets of CLEC4s, were uncovered. This article demonstrates that CLEC4 is crucial for the development of HCC and is associated with infiltration of various immune cells, providing evidence for new immunotherapy targets in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinjiang Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.,Morning Star Academic Cooperation, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongyun Wei
- Morning Star Academic Cooperation, Shanghai, China.,Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Lu Fan
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Mingyan Fang
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Xu He
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Binan Lu
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Zongran Pang
- School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine, Minzu University of China, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
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4
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Lim SM, Kim YE, Choi WJ, Oh KW, Noh MY, Kwon MS, Nahm M, Kim N, Ki CS, Kim SH. CLEC4C p.K210del variant causes impaired cell surface transport in plasmacytoid dendritic cells of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Oncotarget 2018; 7:24942-9. [PMID: 26943047 PMCID: PMC5041881 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.7886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The type II C-type lectin CLEC4C is a transmembrane protein selectively expressed on plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs). Although its mechanism of action remains unclear, triggering of the extracellular C-terminal C-type carbohydrate recognition region of CLEC4C regulates the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and type I IFNs in PDCs. Applying whole-exome sequencing in a patient with juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and both healthy parents, we identified a de novo CLEC4C variant (c.629_631delAGA; p.Lys210del). In this study, we report that the deletion of a lysine residue at the extracellular region of CLEC4C yields a C-terminal dilysine motif that results in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention of the protein in transfected HeLa and Jurkat T lymphoma cell models. As a consequence, a decrease in the surface expression of CLEC4C and the ER localization of the mutant construct were observed. Furthermore, depletion of the cell surface CLEC4C level was also observed in the patient PDCs, further suggesting that the variant p.Lys210del CLEC4C may contribute to juvenile ALS susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Min Lim
- Department of Translational Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Cell Therapy Center, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Won Jun Choi
- Department of Neurology, Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ki-Wook Oh
- Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Cell Therapy Center, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Young Noh
- Cell Therapy Center, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Soo Kwon
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, CHA University, CHA Bio Complex, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Minyeop Nahm
- Cell Therapy Center, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Namshin Kim
- Epigenomics Research Center Genome Institute, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Seok Ki
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Hyun Kim
- Department of Translational Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Cell Therapy Center, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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5
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Yau ACY, Holmdahl R. Rheumatoid arthritis: identifying and characterising polymorphisms using rat models. Dis Model Mech 2017; 9:1111-1123. [PMID: 27736747 PMCID: PMC5087835 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.026435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory joint disorder characterised by erosive inflammation of the articular cartilage and by destruction of the synovial joints. It is regulated by both genetic and environmental factors, and, currently, there is no preventative treatment or cure for this disease. Genome-wide association studies have identified ∼100 new loci associated with rheumatoid arthritis, in addition to the already known locus within the major histocompatibility complex II region. However, together, these loci account for only a modest fraction of the genetic variance associated with this disease and very little is known about the pathogenic roles of most of the risk loci identified. Here, we discuss how rat models of rheumatoid arthritis are being used to detect quantitative trait loci that regulate different arthritic traits by genetic linkage analysis and to positionally clone the underlying causative genes using congenic strains. By isolating specific loci on a fixed genetic background, congenic strains overcome the challenges of genetic heterogeneity and environmental interactions associated with human studies. Most importantly, congenic strains allow functional experimental studies be performed to investigate the pathological consequences of natural genetic polymorphisms, as illustrated by the discovery of several major disease genes that contribute to arthritis in rats. We discuss how these advances have provided new biological insights into arthritis in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony C Y Yau
- Medical Inflammation Research, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rikard Holmdahl
- Medical Inflammation Research, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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6
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Shi LL, Zhang N, Xie XM, Chen YJ, Wang R, Shen L, Zhou JS, Hu JG, Lü HZ. Transcriptome profile of rat genes in injured spinal cord at different stages by RNA-sequencing. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:173. [PMID: 28201982 PMCID: PMC5312572 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-3532-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in fatal damage and currently has no effective treatment. The pathological mechanisms of SCI remain unclear. In this study, genome-wide transcriptional profiling of spinal cord samples from injured rats at different time points after SCI was performed by RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq). The transcriptomes were systematically characterized to identify the critical genes and pathways that are involved in SCI pathology. Results RNA-Seq results were obtained from total RNA harvested from the spinal cords of sham control rats and rats in the acute, subacute, and chronic phases of SCI (1 day, 6 days and 28 days after injury, respectively; n = 3 in every group). Compared with the sham-control group, the number of differentially expressed genes was 1797 in the acute phase (1223 upregulated and 574 downregulated), 6590 in the subacute phase (3460 upregulated and 3130 downregulated), and 3499 in the chronic phase (1866 upregulated and 1633 downregulated), with an adjusted P-value <0.05 by DESeq. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed genes were most enriched in immune response, MHC protein complex, antigen processing and presentation, translation-related genes, structural constituent of ribosome, ion gated channel activity, small GTPase mediated signal transduction and cytokine and/or chemokine activity. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the most enriched pathways included ribosome, antigen processing and presentation, retrograde endocannabinoid signaling, axon guidance, dopaminergic synapses, glutamatergic synapses, GABAergic synapses, TNF, HIF-1, Toll-like receptor, NF-kappa B, NOD-like receptor, cAMP, calcium, oxytocin, Rap1, B cell receptor and chemokine signaling pathway. Conclusions This study has not only characterized changes in global gene expression through various stages of SCI progression in rats, but has also systematically identified the critical genes and signaling pathways in SCI pathology. These results will expand our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms involved in SCI and provide a foundation for future studies of spinal cord tissue damage and repair. The sequence data from this study have been deposited into Sequence Read Archive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra; accession number PRJNA318311). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3532-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Ling Shi
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China.,Department of Immunology, Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233030, People's Republic of China
| | - Nan Zhang
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiu-Mei Xie
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Yue-Juan Chen
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Wang
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Shen
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China.,Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian-Sheng Zhou
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian-Guo Hu
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China. .,Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China.
| | - He-Zuo Lü
- Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China. .,Anhui Key Laboratory of Tissue Transplantation, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Chang Huai Road, Anhui, 233004, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Immunology, Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, 233030, People's Republic of China.
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7
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Lindblom RPF, Berg A, Ström M, Aeinehband S, Dominguez CA, Al Nimer F, Abdelmagid N, Heinig M, Zelano J, Harnesk K, Hübner N, Nilsson B, Ekdahl KN, Diez M, Cullheim S, Piehl F. Complement receptor 2 is up regulated in the spinal cord following nerve root injury and modulates the spinal cord response. J Neuroinflammation 2015; 12:192. [PMID: 26502875 PMCID: PMC4624364 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-015-0413-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Activation of the complement system has been implicated in both acute and chronic states of neurodegeneration. However, a detailed understanding of this complex network of interacting components is still lacking. METHODS Large-scale global expression profiling in a rat F2(DAxPVG) intercross identified a strong cis-regulatory influence on the local expression of complement receptor 2 (Cr2) in the spinal cord after ventral root avulsion (VRA). Expression of Cr2 in the spinal cord was studied in a separate cohort of DA and PVG rats at different time-points after VRA, and also following sciatic nerve transection (SNT) in the same strains. Consequently, Cr2 (-/-) mice and Wt controls were used to further explore the role of Cr2 in the spinal cord following SNT. The in vivo experiments were complemented by astrocyte and microglia cell cultures. RESULTS Expression of Cr2 in naïve spinal cord was low but strongly up regulated at 5-7 days after both VRA and SNT. Levels of Cr2 expression, as well as astrocyte activation, was higher in PVG rats than DA rats following both VRA and SNT. Subsequent in vitro studies proposed astrocytes as the main source of Cr2 expression. A functional role for Cr2 is suggested by the finding that transgenic mice lacking Cr2 displayed increased loss of synaptic nerve terminals following nerve injury. We also detected increased levels of soluble CR2 (sCR2) in the cerebrospinal fluid of rats following VRA. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that local expression of Cr2 in the central nervous system is part of the axotomy reaction and is suggested to modulate subsequent complement mediated effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rickard P F Lindblom
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. .,Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Anaesthesia, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. .,Neuroimmunology Unit L8:04 CMM, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Alexander Berg
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Neuronal Regeneration, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Ström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Shahin Aeinehband
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Cecilia A Dominguez
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Faiez Al Nimer
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nada Abdelmagid
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Matthias Heinig
- Experimental Genetics of Cardiovascular Diseases, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johan Zelano
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Neuronal Regeneration, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin Harnesk
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Norbert Hübner
- Experimental Genetics of Cardiovascular Diseases, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bo Nilsson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kristina Nilsson Ekdahl
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Margarita Diez
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Staffan Cullheim
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Neuronal Regeneration, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Piehl
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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8
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Dominguez CA, Carlström KE, Zhang XM, Al Nimer F, Lindblom RPF, Ortlieb Guerreiro-Cacais A, Piehl F. Variability in C-type lectin receptors regulates neuropathic pain-like behavior after peripheral nerve injury. Mol Pain 2014; 10:78. [PMID: 25492810 PMCID: PMC4271486 DOI: 10.1186/1744-8069-10-78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 11/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neuropathic pain is believed to be influenced in part by inflammatory processes. In this study we examined the effect of variability in the C-type lectin gene cluster (Aplec) on the development of neuropathic pain-like behavior after ligation of the L5 spinal nerve in the inbred DA and the congenic Aplec strains, which carries seven C-type lectin genes originating from the PVG strain. RESULTS While both strains displayed neuropathic pain behavior early after injury, the Aplec strain remained sensitive throughout the whole study period. Analyses of several mRNA transcripts revealed that the expression of Interleukin-1β, Substance P and Cathepsin S were more up-regulated in the dorsal part of the spinal cord of Aplec rats compared to DA, indicating a stronger inflammatory response. This notion was supported by flow cytometric analysis revealing increased infiltration of activated macrophages into the spinal cord. In addition, macrophages from the Aplec strain stimulated in vitro displayed higher expression of inflammatory cytokines compared to DA cells. Finally, we bred a recombinant congenic strain (R11R6) comprising only four of the seven Aplec genes, which displayed similar clinical and immune phenotypes as the Aplec strain. CONCLUSION We here for the first time demonstrate that C-type lectins, a family of innate immune receptors with largely unknown functions in the nervous system, are involved in regulation of inflammation and development of neuropathic pain behavior after nerve injury. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed to dissect the underlying mechanisms more in detail as well as any possible relevance for human conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia A Dominguez
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology Unit, CMM L8:05, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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