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Shaikh SN, Willis EF, Dierich M, Xu Y, Stuart SJS, Gobe GC, Bashaw AA, Rawashdeh O, Kim SJ, Vukovic J. CSF-1R inhibitor PLX3397 attenuates peripheral and brain chronic GVHD and improves functional outcomes in mice. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:300. [PMID: 38102698 PMCID: PMC10725001 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02984-7] [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: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication of otherwise curative allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplants. Chronic GVHD induces pathological changes in peripheral organs as well as the brain and is a frequent cause of late morbidity and death after bone-marrow transplantation. In the periphery, bone-marrow-derived macrophages are key drivers of pathology, but recent evidence suggests that these cells also infiltrate into cGVHD-affected brains. Microglia are also persistently activated in the cGVHD-affected brain. To understand the involvement of these myeloid cell populations in the development and/or progression of cGVHD pathology, we here utilized the blood-brain-barrier permeable colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) inhibitor PLX3397 (pexidartinib) at varying doses to pharmacologically deplete both cell types. We demonstrate that PLX3397 treatment during the development of cGVHD (i.e., 30 days post-transplant) improves disease symptoms, reducing both the clinical scores and histopathology of multiple cGVHD target organs, including the sequestration of T cells in cGVHD-affected skin tissue. Cognitive impairments associated with cGVHD and neuroinflammation were also attenuated by PLX3397 treatment. PLX3397 treatment prior to the onset of cGVHD (i.e., immediately post-transplant) did not change in clinical scores or histopathology. Overall, our data demonstrate significant benefits of using PLX3397 for the treatment of cGVHD and associated organ pathologies in both the periphery and brain, highlighting the therapeutic potential of pexidartinib for this condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samreen N Shaikh
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Emily F Willis
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Max Dierich
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Yi Xu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Samuel J S Stuart
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Glenda C Gobe
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Abate A Bashaw
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Oliver Rawashdeh
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Seung Jae Kim
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jana Vukovic
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
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