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Type I interferon signaling in microglia drives synaptic engulfment and neuronal loss following traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT: Type I interferon (IFN‑I) signaling has emerged as a central regulator of neuroinflammation across diverse central nervous system disorders, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). While TBI is a leading cause of neurologic morbidity and mortality through young adulthood, there is a paucity of neuroprotective therapies available to clinicians. Recent work has demonstrated neuroprotection after global IFN-I deficiency, yet the cell‑type‑specific contributions to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the mechanisms of immune modulation remain poorly defined. Using mice with microglia‑specific IFN‑I receptor deficiency, we show that loss of microglial IFN‑I responsiveness suppresses microglial reactivity, reducing microglial accumulation, synaptic engulfment, antigen presentation, and T cell interactions after TBI. This attenuation preserves neuronal integrity and limits thalamic neuronal loss. However, despite this neuroprotection, microglia‑restricted IFN‑I blockade reveals functional redundancy across CNS cell types, underscoring the multi-cellular nature of IFN‑I signaling in the injured brain. Together, our findings delineate a microglial IFN‑I–dependent pathway that exacerbates secondary injury after TBI and highlight both the therapeutic potential and inherent limitations of cell‑type‑targeted IFN‑I modulation.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE328709 | GEO | 2026/04/23

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces neuroinflammatory innate immune responses that plays roles in both worsening brain damage and facilitating functional recovery. A major goal is to understand the heterogeneity of the immune responses to TBI, and to precisely identify key components that impact functional outcomes. We previously demonstrated that genetically targeting Ccr2 in a mouse model of controlled cortical impact led to neuroprotection in TBI. Our current studies of TBI use single cell RNA sequencing of over 10,000 TBI ipsilateral brain leukocytes to examine the mechanisms associated with the observed benefit in Ccr2-/- mice by comparing gene expression in leukocyte subsets from Ccr2-/- mice to gene expression in C57BL/6 wild type mice. Unbiased clustering identified two monocyte subsets, Chil3hi Ly6Chi classical monocytes and Gpnmbhi Ly6Clo nonclassical monocytes, and nine microglia states in the ipsilateral TBI brain. Comparative analysis between the genotypes revealed that Ccr2-/- TBI mice contained reduced numbers of inflammatory macrophages. In TBI, we observed a subset of microglia highly expressing several type I interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and is designated as Irf7hi microglia. Notably, unbiased differential expression analysis detected a two-fold reduction in the type I interferon response in multiple Ccr2-/- TBI microglia subsets compared to wild type TBI microglia. Treatment post-injury with a human CCR2 (hCCR2) inhibitor, CCX872, in hCcr2 knock-in mice improved cognitive function post-TBI, and also correlated with reduced expression of a key ISG, Irf7. We identified and characterized macrophage and microglia subsets during acute TBI. Our data showed that a reduction in macrophage expansion in TBI by both genetic and pharmacological methods, improved TBI and correlated with a reduction in the type I IFN response. These data indicate that macrophage expansion co-directs a type IFN response in microglia, and that targeting macrophage expansion in the brain can alter the profile of microglia subsets and lead towards improved functional outcomes.

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Type I interferon signaling in microglia drives synaptic engulfment and neuronal loss following traumatic brain injury

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