CX3CR1-dependent recruitment of mature NK cells into the central nervous system contributes to control autoimmune neuroinflammation.

Fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1)-deficient mice develop very severe experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), associated with impaired NK cell recruitment into the CNS. Yet, the precise implications of NK cells in autoimmune neuroinflammation remain elusive. Here, we investigated the pattern of NK cell mobilization and the contribution of CX3CR1 to NK cell dynamics in the EAE. We show that in both wild-type and CX3CR1-deficient EAE mice, NK cells are mobilized from the periphery and accumulate in the inflamed CNS. However, in CX3CR1-deficient mice, the infiltrated NK cells displayed an immature phenotype contrasting with the mature infiltrates in WT mice. This shift in the immature/mature CNS ratio contributes to EAE exacerbation in CX3CR1-deficient mice, since transfer of mature WT NK cells prior to immunization exerted a protective effect and normalized the CNS NK cell ratio. Moreover, mature CD11b(+) NK cells show higher degranulation in the presence of autoreactive 2D2 transgenic CD4(+) T cells and kill these autoreactive cells more efficiently than the immature CD11b(-) fraction. Together, these data suggest a protective role of mature NK cells in EAE, possibly through direct modulation of T cells inside the CNS, and demonstrate that mature and immature NK cells are recruited into the CNS by distinct chemotactic signals.

The enteric nervous system is a potential autoimmune target in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in young adults that has serious negative socioeconomic effects. In addition to symptoms caused by CNS pathology, the majority of MS patients frequently exhibit gastrointestinal dysfunction, which was previously either explained by the presence of spinal cord lesions or not directly linked to the autoimmune etiology of the disease. Here, we studied the enteric nervous system (ENS) in a B cell- and antibody-dependent mouse model of MS by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy at different stages of the disease. ENS degeneration was evident prior to the development of CNS lesions and the onset of neurological deficits in mice. The pathology was antibody mediated and caused a significant decrease in gastrointestinal motility, which was associated with ENS gliosis and neuronal loss. We identified autoantibodies against four potential target antigens derived from enteric glia and/or neurons by immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry. Antibodies against three of the target antigens were also present in the plasma of MS patients as confirmed by ELISA. The analysis of human colon resectates provided evidence of gliosis and ENS degeneration in MS patients compared to non-MS controls. For the first time, this study establishes a pathomechanistic link between the well-established autoimmune attack on the CNS and ENS pathology in MS, which might provide a paradigm shift in our current understanding of the immunopathogenesis of the disease with broad diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

IL-10 mediates plasmacytosis-associated immunodeficiency by inhibiting complement-mediated neutrophil migration.

BACKGROUND: Plasmacytosis (ie, an expansion of plasma cell populations to much greater than the homeostatic level) occurs in the context of various immune disorders and plasma cell neoplasia. This condition is often associated with immunodeficiency that causes increased susceptibility to severe infections. Yet a causative link between plasmacytosis and immunodeficiency has not been established. OBJECTIVE: Because recent studies have identified plasma cells as a relevant source of the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10, we sought to investigate the role of IL-10 during conditions of polyclonal and neoplastic plasmacytosis for the regulation of immunity and its effect on inflammation and immunodeficiency. METHODS: We used flow cytometry, IL-10 reporter (Vert-X) and B cell-specific IL-10 knockout mice, migration assays, and antibody-mediated IL-10 receptor blockade to study plasmacytosis-associated IL-10 expression and its effect on inflammation and Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in mice. ELISA was used to quantify IL-10 levels in patients with myeloma. RESULTS: IL-10 production was a common feature of normal and neoplastic plasma cells in mice, and IL-10 levels increased with myeloma progression in patients. IL-10 directly inhibited neutrophil migration toward the anaphylatoxin C5a and suppressed neutrophil-dependent inflammation in a murine model of autoimmune disease. MOPC.315.BM murine myeloma leads to an increased incidence of bacterial infection in the airways, which was reversed after IL-10 receptor blockade. CONCLUSION: We provide evidence that plasmacytosis-associated overexpression of IL-10 inhibits neutrophil migration and neutrophil-mediated inflammation but also promotes immunodeficiency.

Tracking CNS and systemic sources of oxidative stress during the course of chronic neuroinflammation.

The functional dynamics and cellular sources of oxidative stress are central to understanding MS pathogenesis but remain elusive, due to the lack of appropriate detection methods. Here we employ NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime imaging to detect functional NADPH oxidases (NOX enzymes) in vivo to identify inflammatory monocytes, activated microglia, and astrocytes expressing NOX1 as major cellular sources of oxidative stress in the central nervous system of mice affected by experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). This directly affects neuronal function in vivo, indicated by sustained elevated neuronal calcium. The systemic involvement of oxidative stress is mirrored by overactivation of NOX enzymes in peripheral CD11b(+) cells in later phases of both MS and EAE. This effect is antagonized by systemic intake of the NOX inhibitor and anti-oxidant epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Together, this persistent hyper-activation of oxidative enzymes suggests an "oxidative stress memory" both in the periphery and CNS compartments, in chronic neuroinflammation.

The chronically inflamed central nervous system provides niches for long-lived plasma cells.

Although oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid have been a hallmark of multiple sclerosis diagnosis for over three decades, the role of antibody-secreting cells in multiple sclerosis remains unclear. T and B cells are critical for multiple sclerosis pathogenesis, but increasing evidence suggests that plasma cells also contribute, through secretion of autoantibodies. Long-lived plasma cells are known to drive various chronic inflammatory conditions as e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus, however, to what extent they are present in autoimmune central nervous system inflammation has not yet been investigated. In brain biopsies from multiple sclerosis patients and other neurological diseases, we could detect non-proliferating plasma cells (CD138+Ki67-) in the parenchyma. Based on this finding, we hypothesized that long-lived plasma cells can persist in the central nervous system (CNS). In order to test this hypothesis, we adapted the multiple sclerosis mouse model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis to generate a B cell memory response. Plasma cells were found in the meninges and the parenchyma of the inflamed spinal cord, surrounded by tissue areas resembling survival niches for these cells, characterized by an up-regulation of chemokines (CXCL12), adhesion molecules (VCAM-1) and survival factors (APRIL and BAFF). In order to determine the lifetime of plasma cells in the chronically inflamed CNS, we labeled the DNA of proliferating cells with 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU). Up to five weeks later, we could detect EdU+ long-lived plasma cells in the murine CNS. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing non-proliferating plasma cells directly in the target tissue of a chronic inflammation in humans, as well as the first evidence demonstrating the ability of plasma cells to persist in the CNS, and the ability of the chronically inflamed CNS tissue to promote this persistence. Hence, our results suggest that the CNS provides survival niches for long-lived plasma cells, similar to the niches found in other organs. Targeting these cells in the CNS offers new perspectives for treatment of chronic autoimmune neuroinflammatory diseases, especially in patients who do not respond to conventional therapies.

High-resolution intravital microscopy.

Cellular communication constitutes a fundamental mechanism of life, for instance by permitting transfer of information through synapses in the nervous system and by leading to activation of cells during the course of immune responses. Monitoring cell-cell interactions within living adult organisms is crucial in order to draw conclusions on their behavior with respect to the fate of cells, tissues and organs. Until now, there is no technology available that enables dynamic imaging deep within the tissue of living adult organisms at sub-cellular resolution, i.e. detection at the level of few protein molecules. Here we present a novel approach called multi-beam striped-illumination which applies for the first time the principle and advantages of structured-illumination, spatial modulation of the excitation pattern, to laser-scanning-microscopy. We use this approach in two-photon-microscopy--the most adequate optical deep-tissue imaging-technique. As compared to standard two-photon-microscopy, it achieves significant contrast enhancement and up to 3-fold improved axial resolution (optical sectioning) while photobleaching, photodamage and acquisition speed are similar. Its imaging depth is comparable to multifocal two-photon-microscopy and only slightly less than in standard single-beam two-photon-microscopy. Precisely, our studies within mouse lymph nodes demonstrated 216% improved axial and 23% improved lateral resolutions at a depth of 80 µm below the surface. Thus, we are for the first time able to visualize the dynamic interactions between B cells and immune complex deposits on follicular dendritic cells within germinal centers (GCs) of live mice. These interactions play a decisive role in the process of clonal selection, leading to affinity maturation of the humoral immune response. This novel high-resolution intravital microscopy method has a huge potential for numerous applications in neurosciences, immunology, cancer research and developmental biology. Moreover, our striped-illumination approach is able to improve the resolution of any laser-scanning-microscope, including confocal microscopes, by simply choosing an appropriate detector.