identifying-microglia-peripheral-infiltrating-macrophages-injured

Identifying Microglia and Peripheral Infiltrating Macrophages in the Injured Spinal Cords Using Flow Cytometry

In a healthy spinal cord, peripheral infiltrating macrophages are almost undetectable, and microglia (MG) participate in maintaining the stability of the ...

the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University

Bengbu Medical University

Inflammation is one of the key injury factors for spinal cord injury (SCI). Exosomes (Exos) derived from M2 macrophages have been shown to inhibit inflammation and be beneficial in SCI animal models. However, lacking targetability restricts their application prospects. Considering that chemokine receptors increase dramatically after SCI, viral macrophage inflammatory protein II (vMIP-II) is a broad-spectrum chemokine receptor binding peptide, and lysosomal associated membrane protein 2b (Lamp2b) is the key membrane component of Exos, we speculated that vMIP-II-Lamp2b gene-modified M2 macrophage-derived Exos (vMIP-II-Lamp2b-M2-Exo) not only have anti-inflammatory properties, but also can target the injured area by vMIP-II. In this study, using a murine contusive SCI model, we revealed that vMIP-II-Lamp2b-M2-Exo could target the chemokine receptors which highly expressed in the injured spinal cords, inhibit some key chemokine receptor signaling pathways (such as MAPK and Akt), further inhibit proinflammatory factors (such as IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, IL-18, TNF-α, and iNOS), and promote anti-inflammatory factors (such as IL-4 and Arg1) productions, and the transformation of microglia/macrophages from M1 into M2. Moreover, the improved histological and functional recoveries were also found. Collectively, our results suggest that vMIP-II-Lamp2b-M2-Exo may provide neuroprotection by targeting the injured spinal cord, inhibiting some chemokine signals, reducing proinflammatory factor production and modulating microglia/macrophage polarization.

Exosomes derived from vMIP-II-Lamp2b gene-modified M2 cells provide neuroprotection by targeting the injured spinal cord, inhibiting chemokine signals and modulating microglia/macrophage polarization in mice.

Apoptosis associated speck like protein containing a card (ASC), the key adaptor protein of the assembly and activation of canonical inflammasomes, has been found to play a significant role in neuroinflammation after spinal cord injury (SCI). The previous studies indicated that widely block or knockout ASC can ameliorate SCI. However, ASC is ubiquitously expressed in infiltrated macrophages and local microglia, so further exploration is needed on which type of cell playing the key role. In this study, using the LysM;Asc mice with macrophage-specifc ASC conditional knockout (CKO) and contusive SCI model, we focus on evaluating the specific role of ASC in lysozyme 2 (LysM) myeloid cells (mainly infiltrated macrophages) in this pathology. The results revealed that macrophage-specifc Asc CKO exhibited the follow effects: (1) A significant reduction in the numbers of infiltrated macrophages in the all phases of SCI, and activated microglia in the acute and subacute phases. (2) A significant reduction in ASC, caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-18 compared to control mice. (3) In the acute and subacute phases of SCI, M1 subset differentiation was inhibited, and M2 differentiation was increased. (4) Histology and hindlimb motor recoveries were improved. In conclusion, this study elucidates that macrophage-specific ASC CKO can improve nerve function recovery after SCI by regulating M1/M2 polarization through inhibiting ASC-dependent inflammasome signaling axis. This indicates that ASC in peripheral infiltrated macrophages may play an important role in SCI pathology, at least in mice, could be a potential target for treatment.

Genetic deletion of the apoptosis associated speck like protein containing a card in LysM macrophages attenuates spinal cord injury by regulating M1/M2 polarization through ASC-dependent inflammasome signaling axis.

Ependymal cells (EpCs), as a potential stem cell niche, have gained interest for their potential in vivo stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI). Heterogeneity of spinal EpCs may contribute to differences in the ability of spinal EpCs to proliferate, differentiate and transition after injury, while there is limited understanding of the regulation of these events. Our research found that ezrin (Ezr) was expressed highly in EpCs of the spinal cord, and its upregulation rapidly occurred after injury (6 h). It remained consistently highly expressed in proliferating EpCs, this occurs before pathological accumulation of it occurs in other glial and immune-related cells. Differential expression of Ezr, Arg3, Pvalb, Ccnd1, and Gmpr characterized distinct responses of EpCs to injury activity. Also, we uncovered the dynamic regulatory behavior of immature EpCs after injury. In contrast to constitutive expression in parenchymal tissues, injury factors upregulated guanosine monophosphate reductase (Gmpr) in arrested EpCs, unveiling a distinctive mechanism to regulate proliferation in EpCs following spinal cord injury.

Ezrin, a novel marker of ependymal cells, can be used to demonstrate their proliferation regulation after spinal cord injury in mice.

In recent years, a novel animal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) model was established by administering erythropoietin (EPO) to wild-type (WT) mice. However, the influence of EPO on the murine fecal microbiota remains uninvestigated. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential association between gut microbiota changes and AAA development in this model.

Article	Year
Exosomes derived from vMIP-II-Lamp2b gene-modified M2 cells provide neuroprotection by targeting the injured spinal cord, inhibiting chemokine signals and modulating microglia/macrophage pol... Experimental neurology\| PubMed ID: 38642665	2024
Genetic deletion of the apoptosis associated speck like protein containing a card in LysM macrophages attenuates spinal cord injury by regulating M1/M2 polarization through ASC-dependent inf... Experimental neurology\| PubMed ID: 39353545	2024
Ezrin, a novel marker of ependymal cells, can be used to demonstrate their proliferation regulation after spinal cord injury in mice. Neurobiology of disease\| PubMed ID: 39603280	2024
The gut microbiota in mice with erythropoietin-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm. PeerJ\| PubMed ID: 40212374	2025

Shu-Qin Ding

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