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A single Citrobacter rodentium infection in Pink1 knockout and wild type mice leads to regional blood-brain-barrier perturbation and glial activation without dopamine neuron axon terminal loss

ABSTRACT: A growing body of research supports the hypothesis of links between immune system activation and the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). A recent study revealed that repeated gastrointestinal infection with Citrobacter rodentium can lead to PD-like motor dysfunction in Pink1 knockout (KO) mice and immune cell entry in the brain. In the objective of better understanding the mechanisms leading to immune attack of the brain in this model, we evaluated here the hypothesis that such mild infections are sufficient to increase blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability and cause brain inflammation. Pink1 wild-type (WT) and KO mice were infected with Citrobacter rodentium and at day 13 and 26 post infection, we conducted gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify signs of BBB permeability changes. Quantification of MRI results provided evidence of increased blood-brain barrier permeability in both WT and Pink1 KO at 26 days after the infection in the striatum, dentate gyrus, somatosensory cortex, and thalamus. This was not accompanied by any change in global expression of tight-junction proteins or in markers of the integrity of the dopamine (DA) system in the striatum at both time points. However, chronic microglial activation was detected at day 26 post infection, accompanied by an elevation of the inflammatory mediators eotaxin, IFNγ, CXCL9, IL-17 and MIP-2 in the striatum. Neutrophil infiltration in the brains of infected mice was also noted at day 26 post infection, as revealed by immune cell profiling by flow cytometry. Our results support the hypothesis that even after mild gastro-intestinal infection, increased BBB permeability could contribute to perturbations of brain homeostasis including increased microglial activation and the establishment of a chronic state of brain inflammation. Such perturbations could potentially act as a first hit for subsequent induction of PD pathology in the context of genetic vulnerability.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE284259 | GEO | 2026/04/30

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:The blood-brain barrier (BBB) consists of specific physical barriers, enzymes and transporters, which together maintain the necessary extracellular environment of the central nervous system (CNS). The main physical barrier is found in the CNS endothelial cell, and depends on continuous complexes of tight junctions combined with reduced vesicular transport. Other possible constituents of the BBB include extracellular matrix, astrocytes and pericytes, but the relative contribution of these different components to the BBB remains largely unknown. Here we demonstrate a direct role of pericytes at the BBB in vivo. Using a set of adult viable pericyte-deficient mouse mutants we show that pericyte deficiency increases the permeability of the BBB to water and a range of low-molecular-mass and high-molecular-mass tracers. The increased permeability occurs by endothelial transcytosis, a process that is rapidly arrested by the drug imatinib. Furthermore, we show that pericytes function at the BBB in at least two ways: by regulating BBB-specific gene expression patterns in endothelial cells, and by inducing polarization of astrocyte end-feet surrounding CNS blood vessels. Our results indicate a novel and critical role for pericytes in the integration of endothelial and astrocyte functions at the neurovascular unit, and in the regulation of the BBB. The brain microvascular fragments were isolated from mice with different genotypes, each represented by 3-4 biological replicates. Genotypes 1-2: Platelet derived growth factor-B (PDGF-B) retention-motif knockout (pdgfbret/ret) represent the pericyte-deficient situation, and the heterozygous mice (pdgfbret/+) are used as controls. Genotypes 3-4: Hypomorphic PDGF-B mutants that rescue pdgfb-/- null mice, in which a one copy of a conditionally silent human PDGF-B transgene targeted to the Rosa 26 locus (R26P) is turned on by endothelial-specific expression of Cre recombinase. In this data set these mice are named as Tie2Cre, R26P+/0, pdgfb-/- (representing the pericyte-deficient situation). Mice wt for pdgfb (pdgfb+/+) and carrying one silent copy of R26P (R26P+/0), are used as controls. Genotype 5: Adult Notch3+/+ wildtype (WT).

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A single Citrobacter rodentium infection in Pink1 knockout and wild type mice leads to regional blood-brain-barrier perturbation and glial activation without dopamine neuron axon terminal loss

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