Conditional ablation of myeloid TNF increases lesion volume after experimental stroke in mice, possibly via altered ERK1/2 signaling.

Microglia are activated following cerebral ischemia and increase their production of the neuro- and immunomodulatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). To address the function of TNF from this cellular source in focal cerebral ischemia we used TNF conditional knock out mice (LysMcreTNF(fl/fl)) in which the TNF gene was deleted in cells of the myeloid lineage, including microglia. The deletion reduced secreted TNF levels in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cultured primary microglia by ~93%. Furthermore, phosphorylated-ERK/ERK ratios were significantly decreased in naïve LysMcreTNF(fl/fl) mice demonstrating altered ERK signal transduction. Micro-PET using (18)[F]-fluorodeoxyglucose immediately after focal cerebral ischemia showed increased glucose uptake in LysMcreTNF(fl/fl) mice, representing significant metabolic changes, that translated into increased infarct volumes at 24 hours and 5 days compared to littermates (TNFfl/fl). In naïve LysMcreTNF(fl/fl) mice cytokine levels were low and comparable to littermates. At 6 hours, TNF producing microglia were reduced by 56% in the ischemic cortex in LysMcreTNF(fl/fl) mice compared to littermate mice, whereas no TNF(+) leukocytes were detected. At 24 hours, pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-5 and CXCL1) levels were significantly lower in LysMcreTNF(fl/fl) mice, despite comparable infiltrating leukocyte populations. Our results identify microglial TNF as beneficial and neuroprotective in the acute phase and as a modulator of neuroinflammation at later time points after experimental ischemia, which may contribute to regenerative recovery.

Fibronectin Matrix Assembly after Spinal Cord Injury.

After spinal cord injury (SCI), a fibrotic scar forms at the injury site that is best characterized by the accumulation of perivascular fibroblasts and deposition of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin. While fibronectin is a growth-permissive substrate for axons, the fibrotic scar is inhibitory to axon regeneration. The mechanism behind how fibronectin contributes to the inhibitory environment and how the fibronectin matrix is assembled in the fibrotic scar is unknown. By deleting fibronectin in myeloid cells, we demonstrate that fibroblasts are most likely the major source of fibronectin in the fibrotic scar. In addition, we demonstrate that fibronectin is initially present in a soluble form and is assembled into a matrix at 7 d post-SCI. Assembly of the fibronectin matrix may be mediated by the canonical fibronectin receptor, integrin α5ß1, which is primarily expressed by activated macrophages/microglia in the fibrotic scar. Despite the pronounced cavitation after rat SCI, fibrotic scar also is observed in a rat SCI model, which is considered to be more similar to human pathology. Taken together, our study provides insight into the mechanism of fibrotic scar formation after spinal cord injury.

Screening of cell cycle fusion proteins to identify kinase signaling networks.

Kinase signaling networks are well-established mediators of cell cycle transitions. However, how kinases interact with the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) to elicit protein turnover is not fully understood. We sought a means of identifying kinase-substrate interactions to better understand signaling pathways controlling protein degradation. Our prior studies used a luciferase fusion protein to uncover kinase networks controlling protein turnover. In this study, we utilized a similar approach to identify pathways controlling the cell cycle protein p27(Kip1). We generated a p27(Kip1)-luciferase fusion and expressed it in cells incubated with compounds from a library of pharmacologically active compounds. We then compared the relative effects of the compounds on p27(Kip1)-luciferase fusion stabilization. This was combined with in silico kinome profiling to identify potential kinases inhibited by each compound. This approach effectively uncovered known kinases regulating p27(Kip1) turnover. Collectively, our studies suggest that this parallel screening approach is robust and can be applied to fully understand kinase-ubiquitin pathway interactions.