Endogenous erythropoietin as part of the cytokine network in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Erythropoietin (EPO) is of great interest as a therapy for many of the central nervous system (CNS) diseases and its administration is protective in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Endogenous EPO is induced by hypoxic/ischemic injury, but little is known about its expression in other CNS diseases. We report here that EPO expression in the spinal cord is induced in mouse models of chronic or relapsing-remitting EAE, and is prominently localized to motoneurons. We found a parallel increase of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (HIF)-1 alpha, but not HIF-2 alpha, at the mRNA level, suggesting a possible role of non-hypoxic factors in EPO induction. EPO mRNA in the spinal cord was co-expressed with interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and these cytokines inhibited EPO production in vitro in both neuronal and glial cells. Given the known inhibitory effect of EPO on neuroinflammation, our study indicates that EPO should be viewed as part of the inflammatory/anti-inflammatory network in MS

Erythropoietin Selectively Attenuates Cytokine Production and Inflammation in Cerebral Ischemia by Targeting Neuronal Apoptosis

Ischemic brain injury resulting from stroke arises from primary neuronal losses and by inflammatory responses. Previous studies suggest that erythropoietin (EPO) attenuates both processes. Although EPO is clearly antiapoptotic for neurons after experimental stroke, it is unknown whether EPO also directly modulates EPO receptor (EPO-R)–expressing glia, microglia, and other inflammatory cells. In these experiments, we show that recombinant human EPO (rhEPO; 5,000 U/kg body weight, i.p.) markedly reduces astrocyte activation and the recruitment of leukocytes and microglia into an infarction produced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. In addition, ischemia-induced production of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 concentration is reduced by >50% after rhEPO administration. Similar results were also observed in mixed neuronal-glial cocultures exposed to the neuronal-selective toxin trimethyl tin. In contrast, rhEPO did not inhibit cytokine production by astrocyte cultures exposed to neuronal homogenates or modulate the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, rat glial cells, or the brain to lipopolysaccharide. These findings suggest that rhEPO attenuates ischemia-induced inflammation by reducing neuronal death rather than by direct effects upon EPO-R–expressing inflammatory cells

Expression of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in the cervical spinal cord of wobbler mice

BACKGROUND: The localisation of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits was studied in a model of degeneration of cervical spinal motoneurons, the wobbler mouse. Cervical regions from early or late symptomatic wobbler mice (4 or 12 weeks of age) were compared to lumbar tracts (unaffected) and to those of healthy mice. RESULTS: No differences were found in the distribution of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits at both ages. Western blots analysis showed a trend of reduction in AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits, mainly GluR1 and NR2A, exclusively in the cervical region of late symptomatic mice in the triton-insoluble post-synaptic fraction but not whole homogenates. Colocalisation experiments evidenced the expression of GluR1 and NR2A receptors in activated astrocytes from the cervical spinal cord of wobbler mice, GluR2 did not colocalise with GFAP positive cells. No differences were found in the expression of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in the lumbar tract of wobbler mice, where neither motoneuron loss nor reactive gliosis occurs. CONCLUSION: In late symptomatic wobbler mice altered levels of GluR1 and NR2A receptor subunits may be a consequence of motoneuron loss rather than an early feature of motoneuron vulnerability

Longitudinal Tracking of Human Fetal Cells Labeled with Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in the Brain of Mice with Motor Neuron Disease

Stem Cell (SC) therapy is one of the most promising approaches for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Here we employed Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide nanoparticles (SPIOn) and Hoechst 33258 to track human Amniotic Fluid Cells (hAFCs) after transplantation in the lateral ventricles of wobbler (a murine model of ALS) and healthy mice. By in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo approaches we found that: 1) the main physical parameters of SPIOn were maintained over time; 2) hAFCs efficiently internalized SPIOn into the cytoplasm while Hoechst 33258 labeled nuclei; 3) SPIOn internalization did not alter survival, cell cycle, proliferation, metabolism and phenotype of hAFCs; 4) after transplantation hAFCs rapidly spread to the whole ventricular system, but did not migrate into the brain parenchyma; 5) hAFCs survived for a long time in the ventricles of both wobbler and healthy mice; 6) the transplantation of double-labeled hAFCs did not influence mice survival

Chemokine MIP-2/CXCL2, acting on CXCR2, induces motor neuron death in primary cultures

Objectives: Chemokines are implicated in many diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Although their primary role is to induce inflammation through the recruitment of leukocytes by their chemotactic activity, they may also have direct effects on neuronal cells. We evaluated the expression of CXCR1 and CXCR2 and investigated the effect of CXCR2 activation by the agonist MIP-2 (CXCL2) on primary cultured motor neurons. To specifically assess the role of CXCR2 in the neurotoxicity induced by MIP-2, we used the CXCR1/2 inhibitor reparixin and studied the effect of the chemokine on motor neuron cultures from CXCR2-deficient mice. Methods: Primary motor neurons prepared from rat or mouse embryos were treated with MIP-2 and reparixin. Motor neuron viability and receptor expression were assessed by immunocytochemical techniques. Results: Rat primary motor neurons expressed CXCR2 receptors and recombinant rat MIP-2 induced dose-dependent neurotoxicity. This neurotoxicity was counteracted by reparixin, a specific CXCR1/2 inhibitor, and was not observed in motor neurons from CXCR2-deficient mice. Conclusions: CXCR2 activation might directly contribute to motor neuron degeneration. Thus, chemokines acting on CXCR2, including IL-8, may have direct pathogenic effects in CNS diseases, independent of the induction of leukocyte migration

Erythropoietin exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on the CNS in a model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

: In recent work we reported that systemically administered erythropoietin (EPO) crosses the blood-brain barrier and has protective effects in animal models of cerebral ischemia, brain trauma and in a rat model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here we characterize the effect of systemic EPO on the inflammatory component of actively induced, acute EAE in Lewis rats. Administration of EPO at doses of 500-5000 U/kg bw i.p., daily from day 3 after immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP), delayed the onset of EAE and decreased its clinical score at peak time (days 12-13). Immunohistochemical analysis of the spinal cord using anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and anti-CD11b antibodies showed that EPO markedly diminished inflammation and glial activation/proliferation. EAE induced significant levels of TNF and IL-6 in the spinal cord, where IL-6 was maximum at the onset of the disease (day 10) and TNF at its peak (day 12). EPO delayed the increase of TNF levels, without altering their peak levels, and markedly reduced those of IL-6 suggesting that the decreased inflammation and clinical score may be in part upon attenuation of IL-6. On the other hand, EPO was without effect in a model of adjuvant-induced arthritis in Lewis rats, suggesting a specificity towards autoimmune demyelinating diseases. These data suggest that EPO might act as a protective cytokine in inflammatory pathologies of the CNS

Neural precursors (NPCs) from adult L967Q mice display early commitment to "in vitro" neuronal differentiation and hyperexcitability

The pathogenic factors leading to selective degeneration of motoneurons in ALS are not yet understood. However, altered functionality of voltage-dependent Na+ channels may play a role since cortical hyperexcitability was described in ALS patients and riluzole, the only drug approved to treat ALS, seems to decrease glutamate release via blockade or inactivation of voltage-dependent Na+ channels. The wobbler mouse, a murine model of motoneuron degeneration, shares some of the clinical features of human ALS. At early stages of the wobbler disease, increased cortical hyperexcitability was observed. Moreover, riluzole reduced motoneuron loss and muscular atrophy in treated wobbler mice. Here, we focussed our attention on specific electrophysiological properties, like voltage-activated Na+ currents and underlying regenerative electrical activity, as readouts of the neuronal maturation process of neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) isolated from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of adult early symptomatic wobbler mice. In self-renewal conditions, the rate of wobbler NPC proliferation “in vitro” was 30% lower than that of healthy mice. Conversely, the number of wobbler NPCs displaying early neuronal commitment and action potentials was significantly higher. Upon switching from proliferative to differentiative conditions, NPCs underwent significant changes in the key properties of voltage gated Na+ currents. The most notable finding, in cells with neuronal morphology, was an increase in Na+ current density that strictly correlated with an increased probability to generate action potentials. This feature was remarkably more pronounced in neurons differentiated from wobbler NPCs that upon sustained stimulation, displayed short trains of pathological facilitation. In agreement with this result, an increase in the number of c-Fos positive cells, a surrogate marker of neuronal network activation, was observed in the mesial cortex of the wobbler mice “in situ”. Thus these findings, all together, suggest that a state of early neuronal hyperexcitability may be a major contributor of motoneuron vulnerability