Digestion products of the PH20 hyaluronidase inhibit remyelination.

OBJECTIVE: Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) recruited to demyelinating lesions often fail to mature into oligodendrocytes (OLs) that remyelinate spared axons. The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) accumulates in demyelinating lesions and has been implicated in the failure of OPC maturation and remyelination. We tested the hypothesis that OPCs in demyelinating lesions express a specific hyaluronidase, and that digestion products of this enzyme inhibit OPC maturation. METHODS: Mouse OPCs grown in vitro were analyzed for hyaluronidase expression and activity. Gain of function studies were used to define the hyaluronidases that blocked OPC maturation. Mouse and human demyelinating lesions were assessed for hyaluronidase expression. Digestion products from different hyaluronidases and a hyaluronidase inhibitor were tested for their effects on OPC maturation and functional remyelination in vivo. RESULTS: OPCs demonstrated hyaluronidase activity in vitro and expressed multiple hyaluronidases, including HYAL1, HYAL2, and PH20. HA digestion by PH20 but not other hyaluronidases inhibited OPC maturation into OLs. In contrast, inhibiting HA synthesis did not influence OPC maturation. PH20 expression was elevated in OPCs and reactive astrocytes in both rodent and human demyelinating lesions. HA digestion products generated by the PH20 hyaluronidase but not another hyaluronidase inhibited remyelination following lysolecithin-induced demyelination. Inhibition of hyaluronidase activity lead to increased OPC maturation and promoted increased conduction velocities through lesions. INTERPRETATION: We determined that PH20 is elevated in demyelinating lesions and that increased PH20 expression is sufficient to inhibit OPC maturation and remyelination. Pharmacological inhibition of PH20 may therefore be an effective way to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis and related conditions.

Hyaluronan anchored to activated CD44 on central nervous system vascular endothelial cells promotes lymphocyte extravasation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

The extravasation of lymphocytes across central nervous system (CNS) vascular endothelium is a key step in inflammatory demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) and its receptor, CD44, have been implicated in this process but their precise roles are unclear. We find that CD44(-/-) mice have a delayed onset of EAE compared with wild type animals. Using an in vitro lymphocyte rolling assay, we find that fewer slow rolling (<1 µm/s) wild type (WT) activated lymphocytes interact with CD44(-/-) brain vascular endothelial cells (ECs) than with WT ECs. We also find that CD44(-/-) ECs fail to anchor HA to their surfaces, and that slow rolling lymphocyte interactions with WT ECs are inhibited when the ECs are treated with a pegylated form of the PH20 hyaluronidase (PEG-PH20). Subcutaneous injection of PEG-PH20 delays the onset of EAE symptoms by ~1 day and transiently ameliorates symptoms for 2 days following disease onset. These improved symptoms correspond histologically to degradation of HA in the lumen of CNS blood vessels, decreased demyelination, and impaired CD4(+) T-cell extravasation. Collectively these data suggest that HA tethered to CD44 on CNS ECs is critical for the extravasation of activated T cells into the CNS providing new insight into the mechanisms promoting inflammatory demyelinating disease.

Hyaluronan oligosaccharides perturb lymphocyte slow rolling on brain vascular endothelial cells: implications for inflammatory demyelinating disease.

Inflammatory demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis are characterized by mononuclear cell infiltration into the central nervous system. The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan and its receptor, CD44, are implicated in the initiation and progression of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Digestion of hyaluronan tethered to brain vascular endothelial cells by a hyaluronidase blocks the slow rolling of lymphocytes along activated brain vascular endothelial cells and delays the onset of EAE. These effects could be due to the elimination of hyaluronan or the generation of hyaluronan digestion products that influence lymphocytes or endothelial cells. Here, we found that hyaluronan dodecasaccharides impaired activated lymphocyte slow rolling on brain vascular endothelial cells when applied to lymphocytes but not to the endothelial cells. The effects of hyaluronan dodecasaccharides on lymphocyte rolling were independent of CD44 and a receptor for degraded hyaluronan, Toll-like receptor-4. Subcutaneous injection of hyaluronan dodecasaccharides or tetrasaccharides delayed the onset of EAE in a manner similar to subcutaneous injection of hyaluronidase. Hyaluronan oligosaccharides can therefore act directly on lymphocytes to modulate the onset of inflammatory demyelinating disease.

Human neural stem cells induce functional myelination in mice with severe dysmyelination.

Shiverer-immunodeficient (Shi-id) mice demonstrate defective myelination in the central nervous system (CNS) and significant ataxia by 2 to 3 weeks of life. Expanded, banked human neural stem cells (HuCNS-SCs) were transplanted into three sites in the brains of neonatal or juvenile Shi-id mice, which were asymptomatic or showed advanced hypomyelination, respectively. In both groups of mice, HuCNS-SCs engrafted and underwent preferential differentiation into oligodendrocytes. These oligodendrocytes generated compact myelin with normalized nodal organization, ultrastructure, and axon conduction velocities. Myelination was equivalent in neonatal and juvenile mice by quantitative histopathology and high-field ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging, which, through fractional anisotropy, revealed CNS myelination 5 to 7 weeks after HuCNS-SC transplantation. Transplanted HuCNS-SCs generated functional myelin in the CNS, even in animals with severe symptomatic hypomyelination, suggesting that this strategy may be useful for treating dysmyelinating diseases.