Augmented ß2-adrenergic signaling dampens the neuroinflammatory response following ischemic stroke and increases stroke size.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke provokes a neuroinflammatory response and simultaneously promotes release of epinephrine and norepinephrine by the sympathetic nervous system. This increased sympathetic outflow can act on ß2-adrenergic receptors expressed by immune cells such as brain-resident microglia and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), but the effect on post-stroke neuroinflammation is unknown. Thus, we investigated how changes in ß2-adrenergic signaling after stroke onset influence the microglia/MDM stroke response, and the specific importance of microglia/MDM ß2-adrenergic receptors to post-stroke neuroinflammation. METHODS: To investigate the effects of ß2-adrenergic receptor manipulation on post-stroke neuroinflammation, we administered the ß2-adrenergic receptor agonist clenbuterol to mice 3 h after the onset of photothrombotic stroke. We immunostained to quantify microglia/MDM numbers and proliferation and to assess morphology and activation 3 days later. We assessed stroke outcomes by measuring infarct volume and functional motor recovery and analyzed gene expression levels of neuroinflammatory molecules. Finally, we evaluated changes in cytokine expression and microglia/MDM response in brains of mice with selective knockout of the ß2-adrenergic receptor from microglia and monocyte-lineage cells. RESULTS: We report that clenbuterol treatment after stroke onset causes enlarged microglia/MDMs and impairs their proliferation, resulting in reduced numbers of these cells in the peri-infarct cortex by 1.7-fold at 3 days after stroke. These changes in microglia/MDMs were associated with increased infarct volume in clenbuterol-treated animals. In mice that had the ß2-adrenergic receptor specifically knocked out of microglia/MDMs, there was no change in morphology or numbers of these cells after stroke. However, knockdown of ß2-adrenergic receptors in microglia and MDMs resulted in increased expression of TNFα and IL-10 in peri-infarct tissue, while stimulation of ß2-adrenergic receptors with clenbuterol had the opposite effect, suppressing TNFα and IL-10 expression. CONCLUSIONS: We identified ß2-adrenergic receptor signaling as an important regulator of the neuroimmune response after ischemic stroke. Increased ß2-adrenergic signaling after stroke onset generally suppressed the microglia/MDM response, reducing upregulation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and increasing stroke size. In contrast, diminished ß2-adrenergic signaling in microglia/MDMs augmented both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression after stroke. The ß2-adrenergic receptor may therefore present a therapeutic target for improving the post-stroke neuroinflammatory and repair process.