Tese de doutoramento, Farmácia (Biologia Celular e Molecular), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2017Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron (MN) disease comprehending critical neuroinflammatory pathways, where microglia and astrocytes play a crucial role. ALS onset events are largely unknown and identification of disease steps during progression and dissemination, including the possible role of exosomes, are not clarified. Several models were used to improve data validity and deepen knowledge in ALS. We identified innovative targets to regulate microglia M1 polarization, including NLRP3-inflammasome, HMGB1 alarmin and MFG-E8/lactadherin, and demonstrated the sorting of microglial microRNA(miR) 155/miR-146a into exosomes. We showed that ALS NSC-34 MNs and their exosomes are enriched in miR-124, which are captured and drive early N9-microglia M1 polarization, with later development of M1/M2 subpopulations containing increased miR-124/miR-146a/miR-155. Moving from in vitro models to the spinal cord of the SOD1G93A ALS mouse model, we observed that depressed intercellular communication and increased miR-155 were early disease events preceding the inflammatory status of the symptomatic stage. Upregulated CX3CL1-CX3CR1, connexin-43/pannexin-1 and miR-124/miR-125b/miR-146a/miR-21 emerged as candidate targets for pathological neuroinflammation. Reduced MN number, together with aberrant/reactive astrocytes showing deficient glutamate transporters and GFAP, additionally characterized such state. Differently deregulated profiles of microglia isolated from the spinal cord of 7-day old SOD1G93A mice, after short- and long-term cultures, highlighted that cells present transient phenotypes accordingly to ALS environmental progression-stimuli and ultimately acquire a less responsive phenotype to stimulation. Astrocytes isolated from these mice promoted diverse inflammatory polarized subtypes in wild-type and ALS microglia, thus accounting to microglia heterogeneous populations, while strengthened deregulated microglia-astrocyte cross-talk as part of ALS neurodegenerative mechanisms. Our studies in ALS models reveal early promising biomarkers and novel targets to control excessive neuroinflammation and spread, including exosomal microRNAs. Due to multiple microglia phenotypes induced by MNs and their exosomes, and by reactive astrocytes, in the ALS disease, differentiated and combined therapeutic approaches may be recommended.Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, programa de Investigação Científica em Esclerose Lateral Amiotrófica, projeto ELA-2015-002, The EU Joint Programme-Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), projeto JPCOFUND/003/201
