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Strohm AO, Johnston C, Hernady E, Marples B, O'Banion MK, Majewska AK. Cranial irradiation disrupts homeostatic microglial dynamic behavior. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:82. [PMID: 38570852 PMCID: PMC10993621 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03073-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cranial irradiation causes cognitive deficits that are in part mediated by microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain. Microglia are highly reactive, exhibiting changes in shape and morphology depending on the function they are performing. Additionally, microglia processes make dynamic, physical contacts with different components of their environment to monitor the functional state of the brain and promote plasticity. Though evidence suggests radiation perturbs homeostatic microglia functions, it is unknown how cranial irradiation impacts the dynamic behavior of microglia over time. Here, we paired in vivo two-photon microscopy with a transgenic mouse model that labels cortical microglia to follow these cells and determine how they change over time in cranial irradiated mice and their control littermates. We show that a single dose of 10 Gy cranial irradiation disrupts homeostatic cortical microglia dynamics during a 1-month time course. We found a lasting loss of microglial cells following cranial irradiation, coupled with a modest dysregulation of microglial soma displacement at earlier timepoints. The homogeneous distribution of microglia was maintained, suggesting microglia rearrange themselves to account for cell loss and maintain territorial organization following cranial irradiation. Furthermore, we found cranial irradiation reduced microglia coverage of the parenchyma and their surveillance capacity, without overtly changing morphology. Our results demonstrate that a single dose of radiation can induce changes in microglial behavior and function that could influence neurological health. These results set the foundation for future work examining how cranial irradiation impacts complex cellular dynamics in the brain which could contribute to the manifestation of cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra O Strohm
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Carl Johnston
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Eric Hernady
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Brian Marples
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - M Kerry O'Banion
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
- Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Ania K Majewska
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA.
- Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA.
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA.
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Strohm AO, O'Connor TN, Oldfield S, Young S, Hammond C, McCall M, Dirksen RT, Majewska AK. Cortical microglia dynamics are conserved during voluntary wheel running. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2024; 136:89-108. [PMID: 37969082 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00311.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We present the first demonstration of chronic in vivo imaging of microglia in mice undergoing voluntary wheel running. We find that healthy mice undergoing voluntary wheel running have similar microglia dynamics, morphologies, and responses to injury when compared to sedentary mice. This suggests that exercise over a period of 1 mo does not grossly alter cortical microglial phenotypes and that exercise may exert its beneficial effects on the brain through other mechanisms. Future work examining how microglia dynamics may be altered during exercise in disease or injury models could provide further insights into the therapeutic benefit of exercise.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We demonstrate the first use of chronic in vivo imaging of microglia over time during physical exercise. We found that microglia movement, morphology, and process motility were remarkably stable during voluntary wheel running (VWR). Additionally, microglia in running mice respond similarly to laser ablation injury compared to sedentary mice. These findings indicate that VWR does not induce changes in microglia dynamics in healthy adults. Exercise may elicit positive effects on the brain through other mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra O Strohm
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Thomas N O'Connor
- Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Sadie Oldfield
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Sala Young
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Christian Hammond
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Matthew McCall
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Robert T Dirksen
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Ania K Majewska
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, United States
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