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Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice develop neurodegeneration, age-dependent astrogliosis and obesity-induced changes in microglia immunophenotype which are partly reversed by complement component 5 neutralizing antibody.

ABSTRACT: Abstract Obesity has been linked to vascular dysfunction, cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases. However, experimental models that recapitulate brain pathology in relation to obesity and vascular dysfunction are still lacking. In this study we performed the histological and histochemical characterization of brains from Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice, an established model for obesity and associated vascular disease. 18 week-old and 50 week-old Ldlr-/-.Leiden male mice were compared with age-matched C57BL/6J mice. We then assessed the effect of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity on brain pathology in Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice and tested whether a treatment with an anti-complement component 5 antibody, a terminal complement pathway inhibitor recently shown to reduce vascular disease, can attenuate neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Histological analyses were complemented with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analyses of the hippocampus to unravel molecular pathways underlying brain histopathology. We show that Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice have more severe neurodegeneration and show an age-dependent astrogliosis that is not observed in age-matched C57BL/6J controls. This was substantiated by pathway enrichment analysis using the NGS data which showed that oxidative phosphorylation, EIF2 signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction pathways, all associated with neurodegeneration, were significantly altered in the hippocampus of Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice compared with controls. Obesity-inducing HFD-feeding did not aggravate neurodegeneration and astrogliosis. However, brains from HFD-fed Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice showed reduced IBA-1 immunoreactivity and increased CD68 immunoreactivity compared with chow-fed controls, indicating an altered overall microglial immunophenotype by HFD feeding. The systemic administration of an anti-C5 treatment partially restored the HFD effect on microglial immunophenotype. In addition, NGS data of hippocampi from Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice showed that HFD affected multiple molecular pathways: HFD notably inactivated synaptogenesis and activated neuroinflammation pathways. The anti-C5 treatment restored the HFD-induced effect on molecular pathways to a large extent. This study shows that the Ldlr-/-.Leiden mouse model is suitable to study brain histopathology and associated biological processes in a context of obesity and provides evidence of the potential therapeutic value of anti-complement therapy against obesity-induced neuroinflammation.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE234425 | GEO | 2023/06/18

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex multifactorial disorder that is characterised by dysfunctional lipid metabolism and cholesterol homeostasis, and a related chronic inflammatory response. NAFLD has become the most common cause of chronic liver disease in many countries, and its prevalence continues to rise in parallel with increasing rates of obesity. Here, we evaluated the putative NAFLD-attenuating effects of a multicomponent medicine consisting of 24 ingredients: Hepar compositum (HC-24). Methods: Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) with a macronutrient composition and cholesterol content comparable to human diets for 24 weeks to induce obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction, including hepatic steatosis and inflammation. HC-24 or vehicle control was administered intraperitoneally 3 times/week (1.5 ml/kg) for the last 18 weeks of the study. Histological analyses of liver and adipose tissue were combined with extensive hepatic transcriptomics analysis (next generation sequencing). Transcriptomics results were further substantiated with immunohistochemical and liver lipid analyses. Results: HFD feeding induced obesity and metabolic dysfunction that was associated with adipose tissue inflammation and increased gut permeability. In the liver, HFD-feeding resulted in a disturbance of cholesterol homeostasis and an associated inflammatory response. HC-24 did not affect body weight, metabolic risk factors, adipose tissue inflammation or gut permeability. While HC-24 did not affect total liver steatosis, there was a pronounced reduction in lobular inflammation in HC-24-treated animals, which was associated with modulation of genes involved in inflammation (e.g. neutrophil chemokine Cxcl1) and cholesterol homeostasis (i.e. predicted effect on 'cholesterol' as an upstream regulator, based on gene expression changes associated with cholesterol handling). These effects were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining of neutrophils and biochemical analysis of hepatic free cholesterol content. Intrahepatic free cholesterol levels were found to correlate significantly with the number of inflammatory aggregates in the liver, thereby providing a potential rationale for the observed anti-inflammatory effects of HC-24. Conclusions: Free cholesterol accumulates in the liver of Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice under physiologically translational dietary conditions, and this is associated with the development of hepatic inflammation. The multicomponent medicine HC-24 reduces accumulation of free cholesterol and has molecular and cellular anti-inflammatory effects in the liver.

Project description:Background & Aims: In obesity-associated non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), persistent hepatocellular damage and inflammation are key drivers of fibrosis, the main determinant of NASH-associated mortality. The short chain fatty acid butyrate can exert metabolic improvements and anti-inflammatory activities in NASH. However, its effects on NASH-associated liver fibrosis remains unclear. Methods: Putative antifibrotic effects of butyrate were studied in Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice fed an obesogenic NASH-inducing diet (HFD) containing 2.5% (w/w) butyrate for 38 weeks and compared to an HFD control group. Antifibrotic mechanisms of butyrate were further investigated in TGF-β-stimulated primary human hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Results: HFD-fed mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, increased levels of plasma leptin, adipose tissue inflammation, gut permeability, dysbiosis and NASH-associated fibrosis. Butyrate corrected hyperinsulinemia, lowered plasma leptin levels and attenuated adipose tissue inflammation, without affecting gut permeability or microbiota composition. Butyrate lowered plasma ALT and CK-18M30 and attenuated hepatic steatosis and inflammation. Butyrate inhibited fibrosis development as demonstrated by decreased hepatic collagen content and Sirius-red-positive area. In TGF-β-stimulated HSC, butyrate dose-dependently reduced collagen deposition and decreased procollagen1α1 and PAI-1 protein expression. Transcriptomic analysis and subsequent pathway and upstream regulator analysis revealed deactivation of specific non-canonical TGF-β signaling pathways RhoA/Rock and PI3K/AKT and other important pro-fibrotic regulators (e.g. YAP/TAZ and MYC) by butyrate, providing a potential rationale for its antifibrotic effects. Conclusions: Butyrate protects against the development of obesity and insulin resistance-associated NASH and liver fibrosis. These antifibrotic effects are at least in part attributable to a direct effect on collagen production in hepatic stellate cells, as a result of inhibiting non-canonical TGF-β signaling.

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Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice develop neurodegeneration, age-dependent astrogliosis and obesity-induced changes in microglia immunophenotype which are partly reversed by complement component 5 neutralizing antibody.

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