ITGA2+ Endoneurial Cells and Extracellular Periostin are Upregulated in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

Abstract

Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an autoimmune disorder of the peripheral nervous system characterized by weakness, imbalance, sensory loss and pain. Previously, our lab showed that a strain of NOD mice with a dominant G228W mutation (NOD.AireGW/+ mice) develops spontaneous autoimmune peripheral neuropathy and is a model for CIDP. In the peripheral nerves of neuropathic mice, our lab observed an increase in a population of cells that expressed ITGA2 (a classical marker for NK T cells) and expressed 60-fold higher RNA transcripts of extracellular periostin compared to dendritic cells and T cells. We aimed to determine what types of cells are expressing ITGA2 and to determine whether periostin expression is upregulated in the sciatic nerves of neuropathic mice. Using immunofluorescence staining of ITGA2 and CD3 (a classical marker for T cells) in sciatic nerve sections from neuropathic mice, we found that the CD3+ cells did not co-localize with ITGA2 staining suggesting that the ITGA2+ cells are not infiltrating T cells or NK T cells. Additionally, we found that the ITGA2+ cells were enriched in the neuropathic mice compared to wild type mice. Using qRT-PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence for periostin, we found that periostin was enriched at the mRNA and protein level in neuropathic mice as compared to the wild-type mice. These findings suggest a possible pathogenic or maintenance role of ITGA2+ cells and periostin in CIDP. Consequently, these findings may have important implications in the further study of the pathogenesis of CIDP and help guide more targeted therapeutics for CIDP in the future.Bachelor of Scienc