Prior activation state shapes the microglia response to anti-human TREM2 in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

ABSTRACT: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) sustains microglia response to brain injury stimuli including apoptotic cells, myelin damage, and amyloid β (Aβ). Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) risk is associated with the TREM2R47H variant, which impairs ligand binding and consequently microglia responses to Aβ pathology. Here we tested whether TREM2 engagement by an agonistic mAb, hT2AB, designated as a surrogate ligand facilitates microglia responses in 5XFAD transgenic mice that accumulate Aβ and express either the common TREM2 variant (TREM2CV) or TREM2R47H. scRNA-seq of microglia from TREM2CV-5XFAD mice treated once with control IgG exposed trajectories representative of activated microglial populations including disease-associated microglia (DAM), interferon-responsive (IFN-R), cycling (Cyc-M), and MHC-II expressing (MHC-II) microglia. All of these were underrepresented in TREM2R47H-5XFAD mice, suggesting that TREM2 ligand engagement is required for microglia transitions. Moreover, Cyc-M and IFN-R microglia were better represented in female than male TREM2CV-5XFAD mice, likely reflecting a greater Aβ load in female 5XFAD mice. A single systemic injection of hT2AB replenished the Cyc-M, IFN-R, and MHC-II pools in TREM2R47H-5XFAD mice. In TREM2CV-5XFAD mice, however, hT2AB brought the representation of male Cyc-M and IFN-R microglia closer to that of females, in which microglia transitions in response to Aβ had already reached their peak. Repeated treatment with a murinized version mT2AB over a 10 days period increased brain content of chemokines in TREM2R47H-5XFAD mice, consistent with microglia expansion and shifts in gene expression patterns. Thus, the impact of hT2AB on microglia responses is shaped by the extent of TREM2 endogenous ligand engagement and basal microglia activation.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE156183 | GEO | 2020/12/08

REPOSITORIES: GEO