EAAT expression by macrophages and microglia: still more questions than answers.

Glutamate is the main excitatory amino acid, but its presence in the extracellular milieu has deleterious consequences. It may induce excitotoxicity and also compete with cystine for the use of the cystine-glutamate exchanger, blocking glutathione neosynthesis and inducing an oxidative stress-induced cell death. Both mechanisms are critical in the brain where up to 20% of total body oxygen consumption occurs. In normal conditions, the astrocytes ensure that extracellular concentration of glutamate is kept in the micromolar range, thanks to their coexpression of high-affinity glutamate transporters (EAATs) and glutamine synthetase (GS). Their protective function is nevertheless sensitive to situations such as oxidative stress or inflammatory processes. On the other hand, macrophages and microglia do not express EAATs and GS in physiological conditions and are the principal effector cells of brain inflammation. Since the late 1990s, a number of studies have now shown that both microglia and macrophages display inducible EAAT and GS expression, but the precise significance of this still remains poorly understood. Brain macrophages and microglia are sister cells but yet display differences. Both are highly sensitive to their microenvironment and can perform a variety of functions that may oppose each other. However, in the very particular environment of the healthy brain, they are maintained in a repressed state. The aim of this review is to present the current state of knowledge on brain macrophages and microglial cells activation, in order to help clarify their role in the regulation of glutamate under pathological conditions as well as its outcome.

In vitro interactions between macrophages and aluminum-containing adjuvants.

Intramuscular administration of aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines induces an infiltration of aluminum-containing macrophages between muscle fibers. In vitro stimulation of human monocyte-derived macrophages with aluminum hydroxide (AlOOH) induces similar intracellular crystalline inclusions as well as phenotypical and functional modifications. We compared in this study the ability of other adjuvants to exert similar changes in macrophages in vitro. All mineral salts, i.e. aluminic (AlOOH, AlPO(4)) and non-aluminic mineral adjuvants (CaPO(4), FePO(4)) but not emulsion were able to increase macrophages capacity to potentiate autologous memory T lymphocyte proliferation, while only aluminic adjuvants induced CD83 expression and increased CD86 on macrophages. All together, this suggests that aluminic and non-aluminic adjuvants exerted their immunoactivities by distinct mechanisms on macrophages.

Glutamate metabolism in HIV-infected macrophages: implications for the CNS.

Central nervous system disorders are still a common complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and can lead to dementia and death. They are mostly the consequences of an inflammatory macrophagic activation and relate to glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. However, recent studies also suggest neuroprotective aspects of macrophage activation through the expression of glutamate transporters and glutamine synthetase. We thus aimed to study whether HIV infection or activation of macrophages could modulate glutamate metabolism in these cells. We assessed the effect of HIV infection on glutamate transporter expression as well as on glutamate uptake by macrophages and showed that glutamate transport was partially decreased in the course of virus replication, whereas excitatory amino acid transporter-2 (EAAT-2) gene expression was dramatically increased. The consequences of HIV infection on glutamine synthetase were also measured and for the first time we show the functional expression of this key enzyme in macrophages. This expression was repressed during virus production. We then quantified EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 gene expression as well as glutamate uptake in differentially activated macrophages and show that the effects of HIV are not directly related to pro- or anti-inflammatory mediators. Finally, this study shows that glutamate transport by macrophages is less affected than what has been described in astrocytes. Macrophages may thus play a role in neuroprotection against glutamate in the infected brain, through their expression of both EAATs and glutamine synthetase. Because glutamate metabolism by activated macrophages is sensitive to both HIV infection and inflammation, it may thus be of potential interest as a therapeutic target in HIV encephalitis.

Aluminum hydroxide adjuvant induces macrophage differentiation towards a specialized antigen-presenting cell type.

Aluminum hydroxide (AlOOH) has been used for many years as a vaccine adjuvant, but little is known about its mechanism of action. We investigated in this study the in vitro effect of aluminum hydroxide adjuvant on isolated macrophages. We showed that AlOOH-stimulated macrophages contain large and persistent intracellular crystalline inclusions, a characteristic property of muscle infiltrated macrophages described in animal models of vaccine injection, as well as in the recently described macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) histological reaction in humans. AlOOH-loaded macrophages exhibited phenotypical and functional modifications, as they expressed the classical markers of myeloid dendritic cells (HLA-DR(high)/CD86(high)/CD83(+)/CD1a(-)/CD14(-)) and displayed potent ability to induce MHC-II-restricted antigen specific memory responses, but kept a macrophage morphology. This suggests a key role of macrophages, in the reaction to AlOOH-adjuvanted vaccines and these mature antigen-presenting macrophages may therefore be of particular importance in the establishment of memory responses and in vaccination mechanisms leading to long-lasting protection.

The CX3C chemokine fractalkine in allergic asthma and rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Unlike other chemokines, fractalkine is expressed as a membrane-bound form, mainly on endothelial and epithelial cells, and can be shed as a soluble chemotactic form. Fractalkine can capture leukocytes expressing its receptor (CX(3)CR(1)), including T lymphocytes, rapidly and firmly in an integrin-independent manner. Because of its dual activity, fractalkine plays a major role in the transendothelial and transepithelial migration of leukocytes during inflammation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to study the fractalkine-CX(3)CR(1) axis in patients with allergic airways diseases. METHODS: Plasma fractalkine levels were measured by means of ELISA in 19 control subjects and 55 patients with symptomatic allergic rhinitis, asthma, or both, and CX(3)CR(1) function was studied by using triple-color flow cytometry in circulating T-lymphocyte subpopulations. Segmental allergen challenge was performed in 16 allergic asthmatic patients to analyze fractalkine expression and inflammatory cell recruitment in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and bronchial biopsy specimens. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, patients with symptomatic allergic rhinitis and asthmatic patients had increased circulating fractalkine levels, and CX(3)CR(1) function was upregulated in circulating CD4(+) T lymphocytes. Twenty-four hours after segmental allergen challenge, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid soluble fractalkine concentrations increased and correlated with the total number of recruited cells. Bronchial epithelial and endothelial cells expressed high levels of the membrane-bound form of fractalkine before and after challenge. CONCLUSION: Allergic asthma and rhinitis are associated with systemic and bronchial upregulation of the chemotactic axis fractalkine-CX(3)CR(1). This might contribute to the rapid recruitment of circulating CD4(+) T lymphocytes in the airways after allergen stimulation.

Satellite cells attract monocytes and use macrophages as a support to escape apoptosis and enhance muscle growth.

Once escaped from the quiescence niche, precursor cells interact with stromal components that support their survival, proliferation, and differentiation. We examined interplays between human myogenic precursor cells (mpc) and monocyte/macrophages (MP), the main stromal cell type observed at site of muscle regeneration. mpc selectively and specifically attracted monocytes in vitro after their release from quiescence, chemotaxis declining with differentiation. A DNA macroarray-based strategy identified five chemotactic factors accounting for 77% of chemotaxis: MP-derived chemokine, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, fractalkine, VEGF, and the urokinase system. MP showed lower constitutive chemotactic activity than mpc, but attracted monocytes much strongly than mpc upon cross-stimulation, suggesting mpc-induced and predominantly MP-supported amplification of monocyte recruitment. Determination of [3H]thymidine incorporation, oligosomal DNA levels and annexin-V binding showed that MP stimulate mpc proliferation by soluble factors, and rescue mpc from apoptosis by direct contacts. We conclude that once activated, mpc, which are located close by capillaries, initiate monocyte recruitment and interplay with MP to amplify chemotaxis and enhance muscle growth.

Regulated expression of sodium-dependent glutamate transporters and synthetase: a neuroprotective role for activated microglia and macrophages in HIV infection?

It is now widely accepted that neuronal damage in HIV infection results mainly from microglial activation and involves apoptosis, oxidative stress and glutamate-mediated neurotoxicity. Glutamate toxicity acts via 2 distinct pathways: an excitotoxic one in which glutamate receptors are hyperactivated, and an oxidative one in which cystine uptake is inhibited, resulting in glutathione depletion and oxidative stress. A number of studies show that astrocytes normally take up glutamate, keeping extracellular glutamate concentration low in the brain and preventing excitotoxicity. This action is inhibited in HIV infection, probably due to the effects of inflammatory mediators and viral proteins. Other in vitro studies as well as in vivo experiments in rodents following mechanical stimulation, show that activated microglia and brain macrophages express high affinity glutamate transporters. These data have been confirmed in chronic inflammation of the brain, particularly in SIV infection, where activated microglia and brain macrophages also express glutamine synthetase. Recent studies in humans with HIV infection show that activated microglia and brain macrophages express the glutamate transporter EAAT-1 and that expression varies according to the disease stage. This suggests that, besides their recognized neurotoxic properties in HIV infection, these cells also have a neuroprotective function, and may partly make up for the inhibited astrocytic function, at least temporarily. This hypothesis might explain the discrepancy between microglial activation which occurs early in the disease, and neuronal apoptosis and neuronal loss which is a late event. In this review article, we discuss the possible neuroprotective and neurotrophic roles of activated microglia and macrophages that may be generated by the expression of high affinity glutamate transporters and glutamine synthetase, 2 major effectors of glial glutamate metabolism, and the implications for HIV-induced neuronal dysfunction, the underlying cause of HIV dementia.

CX(3)C chemokine fractalkine in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Perivascular infiltrates composed of macrophages and lymphocytes have been described in lung biopsies of patients displaying pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), suggesting that circulating inflammatory cells can be recruited in affected vessels. CX(3)C chemokine fractalkine is produced by endothelial cells and promotes leukocyte recruitment, but unlike other chemokines, it can capture leukocytes rapidly and firmly in an integrin-independent manner under high blood flow. We therefore hypothesized that fractalkine may contribute to pulmonary inflammatory cell recruitment in PAH. Expression and function of the fractalkine receptor (CX(3)CR1) were studied by use of triple-color flow cytometry on circulating T-lymphocyte subpopulations in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from control subjects and patients with PAH. Plasma-soluble fractalkine concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Finally, fractalkine mRNA and protein expression were analyzed in lung samples by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively. In patients with PAH, CX(3)CR1 expression and function are upregulated in circulating T-lymphocytes, mostly of the CD4+ subset, and plasma soluble fractalkine concentrations are elevated, as compared with control subjects. Fractalkine mRNA and protein product are expressed in pulmonary artery endothelial cells. We conclude that inflammatory mechanisms involving chemokine fractalkine and its receptor CX(3)CR1 may have a role in the natural history of PAH.