Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4-Dependent Microglial Function in Myelin Injury and Repair.

Microglia are found pathologically at all stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion development and are hypothesized to contribute to both inflammatory injury and neuroprotection in the MS brain. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channels are widely expressed, play an important role as environmental sensors, and are involved in calcium homeostasis for a variety of cells. TRPV4 modulates myeloid cell phagocytosis in the periphery and microglial motility in the central nervous system. We hypothesized that TRPV4 deletion would alter microglia phagocytosis in vitro and lessen disease activity and demyelination in experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) and cuprizone-induced demyelination. We found that genetic deletion of TRPV4 led to increased microglial phagocytosis in vitro but did not alter the degree of demyelination or remyelination in the cuprizone mouse model of MS. We also found no difference in disease in EAE following global or microglia-specific deletion of Trpv4. Additionally, lesioned and normal appearing white matter from MS brains exhibited similar TRPV4 expression compared to healthy brain tissue. Taken together, these findings indicate that TRPV4 modulates microglial activity but does not impact disease activity in mouse models of MS, suggesting a muted and/or redundant role in MS pathogenesis.

Neutrophils promote VLA-4-dependent B cell antigen presentation and accumulation within the meninges during neuroinflammation.

The success of B cell depletion therapies and identification of leptomeningeal ectopic lymphoid tissue (ELT) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has renewed interest in the antibody-independent pathogenic functions of B cells during neuroinflammation. The timing and location of B cell antigen presentation during MS and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) remain undefined. Using a new EAE system that incorporates temporal regulation of MHCII expression by myelin-specific B cells, we observed the rapid formation of large B cell clusters in the spinal cord subarachnoid space. Neutrophils preceded the accumulation of meningeal B cell clusters, and inhibition of CXCR2-mediated granulocyte trafficking to the central nervous system reduced pathogenic B cell clusters and disease severity. Further, B cell-restricted very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) deficiency abrogated EAE dependent on B cell antigen presentation. Together, our findings demonstrate that neutrophils coordinate VLA-4-dependent B cell accumulation within the meninges during neuroinflammation, a key early step in the formation of ELT observed in MS.

MicroRNA signature of central nervous system-infiltrating dendritic cells in an animal model of multiple sclerosis.

Innate immune cells are integral to the pathogenesis of several diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including multiple sclerosis (MS). Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent CD11c+ antigen-presenting cells that are critical regulators of adaptive immune responses, particularly in autoimmune diseases such as MS. The regulation of DC function in both the periphery and CNS compartment has not been fully elucidated. One limitation to studying the role of CD11c+ DCs in the CNS is that microglia can upregulate CD11c during inflammation, making it challenging to distinguish bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from microglia. Selective expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to distinguish populations of innate cells and regulate their function within the CNS during neuro-inflammation. Using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) murine model of MS, we characterized the expression of miRNAs in CD11c+ cells using a non-biased murine array. Several miRNAs, including miR-31, were enriched in CD11c+ cells within the CNS during EAE, but not LysM+ microglia. Moreover, to distinguish CD11c+ DCs from microglia that upregulate CD11c, we generated bone marrow chimeras and found that miR-31 expression was specific to BMDCs. Interestingly, miR-31-binding sites were enriched in mRNAs downregulated in BMDCs that migrated into the CNS, and a subset was confirmed to be regulated by miR-31. Finally, miR-31 was elevated in DCs migrating through an in vitro blood-brain barrier. Our findings suggest miRNAs, including miR-31, may regulate entry of DCs into the CNS during EAE, and could potentially represent therapeutic targets for CNS autoimmune diseases such as MS.

The lymphotoxin LTalpha(1)beta(2) controls postnatal and adult spleen marginal sinus vascular structure and function.

The lymphotoxin LTalpha(1)beta(2) supports the development and maintenance of several aspects of spleen structure, but its significance for marginal sinus (MS) vascular organization is unclear. We showed here that, in early postnatal lymphotoxin-deficient mice, the developing Flk-1+ white pulp vessels failed to organize or upregulate MAdCAM-1, leading to altered spatial rearrangement of both the white pulp endothelial cells and the smooth muscle actin-expressing cells. In vitro, MAdCAM-1 directed the reorganization of LTbeta receptor+ endothelial cells grown on Matrigel. LTalpha(1)beta(2) also regulated the maintenance of both MAdCAM-1 expression and mature MS structure in adult mice, contributing importantly to normal trafficking of CD11b+ cells in response to bacterial antigens. Together, our studies demonstrate that LTalpha(1)beta(2) and LTbeta receptor signals control proper development and maintenance of the mature MS structure and implicate MAdCAM-1 in the structuring of the MS endothelial cells that is important for the movement of immune cells within the spleen.

Skin-derived TSLP systemically expands regulatory T cells.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a subset of CD4+ T cells with suppressive function and are critical for limiting inappropriate activation of T cells. Hence, the expansion of Tregs is an attractive strategy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Here, we demonstrate that the skin possesses the remarkable capacity to systemically expand Treg numbers by producing thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in response to vitamin D receptor stimulation. An ∼2-fold increase in the proportion and absolute number of Tregs was observed in mice treated topically but not systemically with the Vitamin D3 analog MC903. This expansion of Tregs was dependent on TSLP receptor signaling but not on VDR signaling in hematopoietic cells. However, TSLP receptor expression by Tregs was not required for their proliferation. Rather, skin-derived TSLP promoted Treg expansion through dendritic cells. Importantly, treatment of skin with MC903 significantly lowered the incidence of autoimmune diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice and attenuated disease score in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Together, these data demonstrate that the skin has the remarkable potential to control systemic immune responses and that Vitamin D-mediated stimulation of skin could serve as a novel strategy to therapeutically modulate the systemic immune system for the treatment of autoimmunity.

B cell antigen presentation is sufficient to drive neuroinflammation in an animal model of multiple sclerosis.

B cells are increasingly regarded as integral to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, in part as a result of the success of B cell-depletion therapy. Multiple B cell-dependent mechanisms contributing to inflammatory demyelination of the CNS have been explored using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a CD4 T cell-dependent animal model for multiple sclerosis. Although B cell Ag presentation was suggested to regulate CNS inflammation during EAE, direct evidence that B cells can independently support Ag-specific autoimmune responses by CD4 T cells in EAE is lacking. Using a newly developed murine model of in vivo conditional expression of MHC class II, we reported previously that encephalitogenic CD4 T cells are incapable of inducing EAE when B cells are the sole APC. In this study, we find that B cells cooperate with dendritic cells to enhance EAE severity resulting from myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) immunization. Further, increasing the precursor frequency of MOG-specific B cells, but not the addition of soluble MOG-specific Ab, is sufficient to drive EAE in mice expressing MHCII by B cells alone. These data support a model in which expansion of Ag-specific B cells during CNS autoimmunity amplifies cognate interactions between B and CD4 T cells and have the capacity to independently drive neuroinflammation at later stages of disease.

Cutting edge: Conditional MHC class II expression reveals a limited role for B cell antigen presentation in primary and secondary CD4 T cell responses.

The activation, differentiation, and subsequent effector functions of CD4 T cells depend on interactions with a multitude of MHC class II (MHCII)-expressing APCs. To evaluate the individual contribution of various APCs to CD4 T cell function, we have designed a new murine tool for selective in vivo expression of MHCII in subsets of APCs. Conditional expression of MHCII in B cells was achieved using a cre-loxP approach. After i.v. or s.c. priming, partial proliferation and activation of CD4 T cells was observed in mice expressing MHCII only by B cells. Restricting MHCII expression to B cells constrained secondary CD4 T cell responses in vivo, as demonstrated in a CD4 T cell-dependent model of autoimmunity, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These results highlight the limitations of B cell Ag presentation during initiation and propagation of CD4 T cell function in vivo using a novel system to study individual APCs by the conditional expression of MHCII.

Prevalence of anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies across neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

Inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), are characterized by humoral immune abnormalities. Anti-MOG antibodies are not specific to MOGAD, with their presence described in MS. Autoantibodies may also be present and play a role in various neurodegenerative diseases. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease driven by motor neuron dysfunction. While immune involvement in ALS has been recognized, the presence of antibodies targeting CNS myelin antigens has not been established. We aimed to establish a live cell-based assay for quantification of serum anti-MOG IgG1 in patients with CNS diseases, including MS and ALS. In total, 771 serum samples from the John L. Trotter MS Center and the Northeast ALS Consortium were examined using a live cell-based assay for detection of anti-MOG IgG1. Samples from three cohorts were tested in blinded fashion: healthy control (HC) subjects, patients with clinically diagnosed MOGAD, and an experimental group of ALS and MS patients. All samples from established MOGAD cases were positive for anti-MOG antibodies, while all HC samples were negative. Anti-MOG IgG1 was detected in 65 of 658 samples (9.9%) from MS subjects and 4 of 108 (3.7%) samples from ALS subjects. The presence of serum anti-MOG IgG1 in MS and ALS patients raises questions about the contribution of these antibodies to disease pathophysiology as well as accuracy of diagnostic approaches for CNS inflammatory diseases.

Antigen-specific depletion of CD4+ T cells by CAR T cells reveals distinct roles of higher- and lower-affinity TCRs during autoimmunity.

Both higher- and lower-affinity self-reactive CD4+ T cells are expanded in autoimmunity; however, their individual contribution to disease remains unclear. We addressed this question using peptide-MHCII chimeric antigen receptor (pMHCII-CAR) T cells to specifically deplete peptide-reactive T cells in mice. Integration of improvements in CAR engineering with TCR repertoire analysis was critical for interrogating in vivo the role of TCR affinity in autoimmunity. Our original MOG35-55 pMHCII-CAR, which targeted only higher-affinity TCRs, could prevent the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, pMHCII-CAR enhancements to pMHCII stability, as well as increased survivability via overexpression of a dominant-negative Fas, were required to target lower-affinity MOG-specific T cells and reverse ongoing clinical EAE. Thus, these data suggest a model in which higher-affinity autoreactive T cells are required to provide the "activation energy" for initiating neuroinflammatory injury, but lower-affinity cells are sufficient to maintain ongoing disease.

Mycobacterium abscessus Glycopeptidolipids mask underlying cell wall phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides blocking induction of human macrophage TNF-alpha by preventing interaction with TLR2.

Mycobacterium abscessus causes disease in patients with structural abnormalities of the lung, and it is an emerging pathogen in patients with cystic fibrosis. Colonization of the airways by nontuberculous mycobacteria is a harbinger of invasive lung disease. Colonization is facilitated by biofilm formation, with M. abscessus glycopeptidolipids playing an important role. M. abscessus can transition between a noninvasive, biofilm-forming, smooth colony phenotype that expresses glycopeptidolipid, and an invasive rough colony phenotype that expresses minimal amounts of glycopeptidolipid and is unable to form biofilms. The ability of this pathogen to transition between these phenotypes may have particular relevance to lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients since the altered pulmonary physiology of these patients makes them particularly susceptible to colonization by biofilm-forming bacteria. In this study we demonstrate that rough variants of M. abscessus stimulate the human macrophage innate immune response through TLR2, while smooth variants do not. Temperature-dependent loss or physical removal of glycopeptidolipid from the cell wall of one of the smooth variants leads to TLR2 stimulation. This response is stimulated in part through phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides that are present in the cell wall of both rough and smooth variants. Mannose-binding lectins bind to rough variants, but lectin binding to an isogenic smooth variant is markedly reduced. This suggests that glycopeptidolipid in the outermost portion of the M. abscessus cell wall masks underlying cell wall lipids involved in stimulating the innate immune response, thereby facilitating colonization. Conversely spontaneous "unmasking" of cell wall lipids may promote airway inflammation.

B cells are capable of independently eliciting rapid reactivation of encephalitogenic CD4 T cells in a murine model of multiple sclerosis.

Recent success with B cell depletion therapies has revitalized efforts to understand the pathogenic role of B cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Using the adoptive transfer system of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS, we have previously shown that mice in which B cells are the only MHCII-expressing antigen presenting cell (APC) are susceptible to EAE. However, a reproducible delay in the day of onset of disease driven by exclusive B cell antigen presentation suggests that B cells require optimal conditions to function as APCs in EAE. In this study, we utilize an in vivo genetic system to conditionally and temporally regulate expression of MHCII to test the hypothesis that B cell APCs mediate attenuated and delayed neuroinflammatory T cell responses during EAE. Remarkably, induction of MHCII on B cells following the transfer of encephalitogenic CD4 T cells induced a rapid and robust form of EAE, while no change in the time to disease onset occurred for recipient mice in which MHCII is induced on a normal complement of APC subsets. Changes in CD4 T cell activation over time did not account for more rapid onset of EAE symptoms in this new B cell-mediated EAE model. Our system represents a novel model to study how the timing of pathogenic cognate interactions between lymphocytes facilitates the development of autoimmune attacks within the CNS.

Functional connectivity alterations in a murine model of optic neuritis.

The basis for neuronal dysfunction following inflammatory demyelination of the central nervous system (CNS) remains poorly understood. We characterized the network response to white matter injury in the anterior visual pathway using an experimental model of optic neuritis (ON), as ON is often an early manifestation of immune-mediated CNS demyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS). Optical intrinsic signal imaging was performed before and after the induction of ON in mice to measure changes in cortical network functional connectivity. We observed a greater loss of connectivity between homotopic visual cortices in ON mice compared to controls. Further, decreases in homotopic visual cortex connectivity were associated with visual acuity loss in ON mice. These results demonstrate that network connectivity changes resulting from ON can be modeled in an experimental murine system. Future studies will identify the mechanisms that cause neuronal dysfunction due to white matter injury seen in MS.

T-cell trafficking competence is required for CNS invasion.

T-cell invasion of the CNS is critical for the induction of a variety of autoimmune mediated neuronal diseases. We utilized blood-brain barrier (BBB) mediated exclusion of anti-CD4 antibody to define populations of encephalitogenic T-cells recovered from mouse CNS preparations as either CNS invasive or non-invasive. This separation of cells allowed flow cytometric examination of the kinetics of encephalitogenic T-cell entry past the BBB. Further experiments examined the relative contribution of EAE inflammatory conditioning of the BBB to the kinetics of T-cell adherence and migration into the CNS. Inflammatory conditioning was found to have no effect on accumulation of T-cells at the vascular interface of the BBB, but was found to increase the entry of adoptively transferred T-cells into the CNS following their initial adherence to the BBB.

Region-specific regulation of inflammation and pathogenesis in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an animal model of multiple sclerosis and is characterized by an infiltrate of predominantly T cells and macrophages in the spinal cord and brain. In both the spinal cord and the cerebellum, Th1 cells direct inflammation to antigen-rich white matter tracts, and there is a TNFR1-dependent recruitment of CD11b(hi) cells in both regions. In the spinal cord, parenchymal invasion, demyelination and clinical symptoms are associated with TNFR1-dependant parenchymal induction (especially astrocytes) of VCAM-1 and CXCL2. None of these events occur in the cerebellum despite the fact that an inflammatory infiltrate accumulates in the perivascular space. Therefore regional specificity in astrocyte responses to inflammatory cytokines may regulate regional parenchymal infiltration and pathogenesis.

IL-1-induced Bhlhe40 identifies pathogenic T helper cells in a model of autoimmune neuroinflammation.

The features that define autoreactive T helper (Th) cell pathogenicity remain obscure. We have previously shown that Th cells require the transcription factor Bhlhe40 to mediate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Here, using Bhlhe40 reporter mice and analyzing both polyclonal and TCR transgenic Th cells, we found that Bhlhe40 expression was heterogeneous after EAE induction, with Bhlhe40-expressing cells displaying marked production of IFN-γ, IL-17A, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. In adoptive transfer EAE models, Bhlhe40-deficient Th1 and Th17 cells were both nonencephalitogenic. Pertussis toxin (PTX), a classical co-adjuvant for actively induced EAE, promoted IL-1ß production by myeloid cells in the draining lymph node and served as a strong stimulus for Bhlhe40 expression in Th cells. Furthermore, PTX co-adjuvanticity was Bhlhe40 dependent. IL-1ß induced Bhlhe40 expression in polarized Th17 cells, and Bhlhe40-expressing cells exhibited an encephalitogenic transcriptional signature. In vivo, IL-1R signaling was required for full Bhlhe40 expression by Th cells after immunization. Overall, we demonstrate that Bhlhe40 expression identifies encephalitogenic Th cells and defines a PTX-IL-1-Bhlhe40 pathway active in EAE.

Apolipoprotein E mediation of neuro-inflammation in a murine model of multiple sclerosis.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) functions as a ligand in receptor-mediated endocytosis of lipoprotein particles and has been demonstrated to play a role in antigen presentation. To explore the contribution of ApoE during autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) demyelination, we examined the clinical, cellular immune function, and pathologic consequences of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induction in ApoE knockout (ApoE(-/-)) mice. We observed reduced clinical severity of EAE in ApoE(-/-) mice in comparison to WT mice that was concomitant with an early reduction of dendritic cells (DCs) followed by a reduction of additional innate cells in the spinal cord at the peak of disease without any differences in axonal damage. While T cell priming was enhanced in ApoE(-/-) mice, reduced severity of EAE was also observed in ApoE(-/-) recipients of encephalitogenic wild type T cells. Expression of ApoE during EAE was elevated within the CNS of wild type mice, particularly by innate cells such as DCs. Overall, ApoE promotes clinical EAE, likely by mediation of inflammation localized within the CNS.

A tumor necrosis factor receptor 1-dependent conversation between central nervous system-specific T cells and the central nervous system is required for inflammatory infiltration of the spinal cord.

We examined the role of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) in inflammation initiated by the adoptive transfer of central nervous system (CNS)-specific Th1 cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a murine model of multiple sclerosis. This adoptive transfer paradigm eliminates the confounding effects of bacterial adjuvants in the analysis of inflammation. We found that although T cells could reach the meninges and perivascular space in the absence of TNFR1, recruitment of other inflammatory cells from the blood was dramatically reduced. The reduction in the recruitment of CD11b(hi) cells correlated with a dramatic reduction in the production of the chemokines CCL2 (MCP-1) and CXLC2 (MIP-2) in TNFR1-deficient hosts. Bone marrow chimera experiments demonstrated that TNF can be effectively supplied by either the hematopoietic system or the CNS, but the essential TNFR1-responsive cells reside in the CNS. Previous work has demonstrated that microglia produce CCL2, and here we demonstrate that astrocytes and endothelial cells produced CXCL2 in the early stages of inflammation. Therefore, productive inflammation results from a conversation, or mutually responding signals, between the initiating T cells and cells in the parenchyma of the spinal cord.

Defining antigen-dependent stages of T cell migration from the blood to the central nervous system parenchyma.

In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), intravenous transfer of activated CD4(+) myelin-specific T cells is sufficient to induce disease. Transferred T cells access the CNS parenchyma by trafficking across the blood brain barrier (BBB) vascular endothelium into the perivascular space, and then across the glial limitans that is made up of astrocytes and microglia. Flow cytometry analysis of cells isolated from CNS tissue does not distinguish between T cell populations at the various stages of migration. In this study, we have used GK1.5 (anti-CD4) treatment along with immunohistochemistry to distinguish between populations of T cells that are associated with the vasculature, T cells that have migrated into the perivascular space, and T cells in the parenchyma. We have also re-evaluated antigen specificity requirements of T cells as they are recruited to the CNS parenchyma. Activated myelin-specific T cells are restricted to the CNS vasculature for at least 24 h post transfer. MHC class II expression on the recipient is required for cells to traffic across the CNS vascular endothelium. Further, Con A-stimulated or non-CNS-specific (ovalbumin-specific) T cells fail to migrate into the perivascular space, and only enter the CNS parenchyma when co-transferred with myelin-specific T cells. Our results indicate that Th1 populations cannot accumulate in the perivascular (subarachnoid, Virchow-Robbins) space without a CNS antigen-specific signal.