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Donor bone marrow-derived macrophage MHC II drives neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits during chronic GVHD in mice

ABSTRACT: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains the leading cause of non-relapse mortality after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for haematological malignancies. Manifestations of GVHD in the central nervous system (CNS) present as neurocognitive dysfunction in up to 60% of patients, however, the mechanisms driving chronic GVHD in the CNS are yet to be elucidated. Our studies of murine chronic GVHD revealed a spatial learning and memory deficit associated with inflammation in the hippocampus underlain by persistent Ifng upregulation. By flow cytometry, we observed a proportional shift in the donor-derived T-cell population in the chronic GVHD brain from early CD8 dominance to later CD4 sequestration. Hippocampal RNA sequencing identified perturbations to structural and functional synapse-related gene expression, together with the upregulation of genes associated with IFN-γ responses and antigen presentation. Neuroinflammation in the cortex of mice and humans during acute GVHD was recently shown to be mediated by resident microglia-derived TNF. In contrast, infiltration of pro-inflammatory MHC class II+ donor bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) was identified as a distinguishing feature of CNS chronic GVHD. Donor BMDM, which comprised up to 50% of the CNS myeloid population, exhibited a transcriptional signature distinct from resident microglia. Recipients of MHC class II knockout bone marrow grafts exhibited attenuated neuroinflammation, suggestive of a critical role for donor BMDM in chronic CNS GVHD. Our identification of disease mediators distinct from those in the acute phase indicates the necessity to pursue alternative therapeutic targets for late-stage neurological manifestations.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE179441 | GEO | 2021/08/18

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by demyelination and axonal loss. Demyelinating lesions are associated with infiltrating T lymphocytes, bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM), and activated resident microglia. Tissue damage is thought to be mediated by T cell produced cytokines and chemokines, which activate microglia and/or BMDM to both strip myelin and produce toxic factors, ultimately damaging axons and promoting disability. However, the relative contributions of BMDM and microglia to demyelinating pathology are unclear, as their identification in MS tissue is difficult due to similar morphology and indistinguishable surface markers when activated. The CD4 T cell-induced autoimmune murine model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE), in which BMDM are essential for demyelination, has revealed pathogenic and repair-promoting phenotypes associated with BMDM and microglia, respectively. Using a murine model of demyelination induced by a gliatropic coronavirus, in which BMDM are redundant for demyelination, we herein characterize gene expression profiles of BMDM versus microglia associated with demyelination. While gene expression in CNS infiltrating BMDM was upregulated early following infection and subsequently sustained, microglia expressed a more dynamic gene profile with extensive mRNA upregulation coinciding with peak demyelination after viral control. This delayed microglia response comprised a highly pro-inflammatory and phagocytic profile. Furthermore, while BMDM exhibited a mixed phenotype of M1 and M2 markers, microglia repressed the vast majority of M2-markers. Overall, these data support a pro-inflammatory and pathogenic role of microglia temporally remote from viral control, whereas BMDM retained their gene expression profile independent of the changing environment. As demyelination is caused by multifactorial insults, our results highlight the plasticity of microglia in responding to distinct inflammatory settings, which may be relevant for MS pathogenesis.

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Donor bone marrow-derived macrophage MHC II drives neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits during chronic GVHD in mice

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