Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 contributes to myelin maintenance in the adult central nervous system and promotes myelin gene expression.

Mechanisms regulating oligodendrocyte differentiation, developmental myelination and myelin maintenance in adulthood are complex and still not completely described. Their understanding is crucial for the development of new protective or therapeutic strategies in demyelinating pathologies such as multiple sclerosis. In this perspective, we have investigated the role of Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (Cdk7), a kinase involved in cell-cycle progression and transcription regulation, in the oligodendroglial lineage. We generated a conditional knock-out mouse model in which Cdk7 is invalidated in post-mitotic oligodendrocytes. At the end of developmental myelination, the number and diameter of myelinated axons, as well as the myelin structure, thickness and protein composition, were normal. However, in young adult and in aged mice, there was a higher number of small caliber myelinated axons associated with a decreased mean axonal diameter, myelin sheaths of large caliber axons were thinner, and the level of some major myelin-associated proteins was reduced. These defects were accompanied by the appearance of an abnormal clasping phenotype. We also used an in vitro oligodendroglial model and showed that Cdk7 pharmacological inhibition led to an altered myelination-associated morphological modification combined with a decreased expression of myelin-specific genes. Altogether, we identified novel functions for Cdk7 in CNS myelination.

KIAA1199: A novel regulator of MEK/ERK-induced Schwann cell dedifferentiation.

The molecular mechanisms that regulate Schwann cell (SC) plasticity and the role of the Nrg1/ErbB-induced MEK1/ERK1/2 signalling pathway in SC dedifferentiation or in myelination remain unclear. It is currently believed that different levels of MEK1/ERK1/2 activation define the state of SC differentiation. Thus, the identification of new regulators of MEK1/ERK1/2 signalling could help to decipher the context-specific aspects driving the effects of this pathway on SC plasticity. In this perspective, we have investigated the potential role of KIAA1199, a protein that promotes ErbB and MEK1/ERK1/2 signalling in cancer cells, in SC plasticity. We depleted KIAA1199 in the SC-derived MSC80 cell line with RNA-interference-based strategy and also generated Tamoxifen-inducible and conditional mouse models in which KIAA1199 is inactivated through homologous recombination, using the Cre-lox technology. We show that the invalidation of KIAA1199 in SC decreases the expression of cJun and other negative regulators of myelination and elevates Krox20, driving them towards a pro-myelinating phenotype. We further show that in dedifferentiation conditions, SC invalidated for KIAA1199 exhibit lower myelin clearance as well as increased myelination capacity. Finally, the Nrg1-induced activation of the MEK/ERK/1/2 pathway is severely reduced when KIAA1199 is absent, indicating that KIAA1199 promotes Nrg1-dependent MEK1 and ERK1/2 activation in SCs. In conclusion, this work identifies KIAA1199 as a novel regulator of MEK/ERK-induced SC dedifferentiation and contributes to a better understanding of the molecular control of SC dedifferentiation.

Concise review: Spinal cord injuries: how could adult mesenchymal and neural crest stem cells take up the challenge?

Since several years, adult/perinatal mesenchymal and neural crest stem cells have been widely used to help experimental animal to recover from spinal cord injury. More interestingly, recent clinical trials confirmed the beneficial effect of those stem cells, which improve functional score of patients suffering from such lesions. However, a complete understanding of the mechanisms of stem cell-induced recovery is seriously lacking. Indeed, spinal cord injuries gathered a wide range of biochemical and physiopathological events (such as inflammation, oxidative stress, axonal damage, demyelination, etc.) and the genuine healing process after cell transplantation is not sufficiently defined. This review aims to sum up recent data about cell therapy in spinal cord lesions using mesenchymal or recently identified neural crest stem cells, by describing precisely which physiopathological parameter is affected and the exact processes underlying the observed changes. Overall, although significant advances are acknowledged, it seems that further deep mechanistic investigation is needed for the development of optimized and efficient cell-based therapy protocols.

Neutrophil contribution to spinal cord injury and repair.

Spinal cord injuries remain a critical issue in experimental and clinical research nowadays, and it is now well accepted that the immune response and subsequent inflammatory reactions are of significant importance in regulating the damage/repair balance after injury. The role of macrophages in such nervous system lesions now becomes clearer and their contribution in the wound healing process has been largely described in the last few years. Conversely, the contribution of neutrophils has traditionally been considered as detrimental and unfavorable to proper tissue regeneration, even if there are very few studies available on their precise impact in spinal cord lesions. Indeed, recent data show that neutrophils are required for promoting functional recovery after spinal cord trauma. In this review, we gathered recent evidence concerning the role of neutrophils in spinal cord injuries but also in some other neurological diseases, highlighting the need for further understanding the different mechanisms involved in spinal cord injury and repair.

Involvement of placental growth factor in Wallerian degeneration.

Wallerian degeneration (WD) is an inflammatory process of nerve degeneration, which occurs more rapidly in the peripheral nervous system compared with the central nervous system, resulting, respectively in successful and aborted axon regeneration. In the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells (SCs) and macrophages, under the control of a network of cytokines and chemokines, represent the main cell types involved in this process. Within this network, the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) remains totally unknown. However, properties like monocyte activation/attraction, ability to increase expression of pro-inflammatory molecules, as well as neuroprotective effects, make it a candidate likely implicated in this process. Also, nothing is described about the expression and localization of this molecule in the peripheral nervous system. To address these original questions, we decided to study PlGF expression under physiological and degenerative conditions and to explore its role in WD, using a model of sciatic nerve transection in wild-type and Pgf(-/-) mice. Our data show dynamic changes of PlGF expression, from periaxonal in normal nerve to SCs 24h postinjury, in parallel with a p65/NF-κB recruitment on Pgf promoter. After injury, SC proliferation is reduced by 30% in absence of PlGF. Macrophage invasion is significantly delayed in Pgf(-/-) mice compared with wild-type mice, which results in worse functional recovery. MCP-1 and proMMP-9 exhibit a 3-fold reduction of their relative expressions in Pgf(-/-) injured nerves, as demonstrated by cytokine array. In conclusion, this work originally describes PlGF as a novel member of the cytokine network of WD.

Placental growth factor: a tissue modelling factor with therapeutic potentials in neurology?

Placental growth factor (PlGF) is an angiogenic factor that belongs to the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family. Besides its well known capacity to potentiate the angiogenic action of VEGF, PlGF also participates in inflammatory processes by attracting and activating monocytes; it plays therefore more specifically a role in pathological conditions. PIGF and its two receptors, VEGFR-1 and neuropilins (NRPs), are expressed in the brain and increase after experimental stroke, but their precise functions in the nervous system remain underexplored. In this review article, we summarize present knowledge on the role of PlGF in various nervous system disease processes. Given the available data, P1GF has neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties that make it an actor of considerable interest in the pathophysiology and potentially in the therapy of degenerative and traumatic brain or spinal cord diseases.

Stem cells in the adult rat spinal cord: plasticity after injury and treadmill training exercise.

Ependymal cells located around the central canal of the adult spinal cord are considered as a source of neural stem cells (NSCs) and represent an interesting pool of endogenous stem cells for repair strategies. Physical exercise is known to increase ependymal cell proliferation, while improving functional recovery. In this work, we further characterized those endogenous NSCs within the normal and injured adult rat spinal cord and investigated the effects of treadmill training using immunohistochemical and behavioral studies. In uninjured untrained rats, Sox-2, a NSC marker, was detected in all ependymal cells of the central canal, and also scattered throughout the parenchyma of the spinal cord. Within the lesion, Sox-2 expression increased transiently, while the number of nestin-positive ependymal cells increased with a concomitant enhancement of proliferation, as indicated by the mitotic markers Ki67 and bromo-deoxyuridine. Exercise, which improved functional recovery and autonomous micturition, maintained nestin expression in both injured and uninjured spinal cords, with a positive correlation between locomotor recovery and the number of nestin-positive cells.

Neural differentiation potential of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells: misleading marker gene expression.

BACKGROUND: In contrast to pluripotent embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have been considered to be multipotent, being somewhat more restricted in their differentiation capacity and only giving rise to cell types related to their tissue of origin. Several studies, however, have reported that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are capable of transdifferentiating to neural cell types, effectively crossing normal lineage restriction boundaries. Such reports have been based on the detection of neural-related proteins by the differentiated MSCs. In order to assess the potential of human adult MSCs to undergo true differentiation to a neural lineage and to determine the degree of homogeneity between donor samples, we have used RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry to investigate the basal expression of a range of neural related mRNAs and proteins in populations of non-differentiated MSCs obtained from 4 donors. RESULTS: The expression analysis revealed that several of the commonly used marker genes from other studies like nestin, Enolase2 and microtubule associated protein 1b (MAP1b) are already expressed by undifferentiated human MSCs. Furthermore, mRNA for some of the neural-related transcription factors, e.g. Engrailed-1 and Nurr1 were also strongly expressed. However, several other neural-related mRNAs (e.g. DRD2, enolase2, NFL and MBP) could be identified, but not in all donor samples. Similarly, synaptic vesicle-related mRNA, STX1A could only be detected in 2 of the 4 undifferentiated donor hMSC samples. More significantly, each donor sample revealed a unique expression pattern, demonstrating a significant variation of marker expression. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights the existence of an inter-donor variability of expression of neural-related markers in human MSC samples that has not previously been described. This donor-related heterogeneity might influence the reproducibility of transdifferentiation protocols as well as contributing to the ongoing controversy about differentiation capacities of MSCs. Therefore, further studies need to consider the differences between donor samples prior to any treatment as well as the possibility of harvesting donor cells that may be inappropriate for transplantation strategies.

Rapid, postmortem 9.4 T MRI of spinal cord injury: correlation with histology and survival times.

High field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been increasingly used to assess experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present investigation, after partial spinal cord injury and excision of the whole spine, pathological changes of the spinal cord were studied in spinal cord-spine blocks, from the acute to the chronic state (24 h to 5 months). Using proton density (PD) weighted imaging parameters at a magnetic field strength of 9.4 tesla (T), acquisition times ranging from <1 to 10 h per specimen were used. High in-plane pixel resolution (68 and 38 microm, respectively) was obtained, as well as high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is important for optimal contrast settings. The quality of the resulting MR images was demonstrated by comparison with histology. The cord and the lesion were shown in their anatomical surroundings, detecting cord swelling in the acute phase (24 h to 1 week) and cord atrophy at the chronic stage. Haemorrhage was detected as hypo-intense signal. Oedema, necrosis and scarring were hyper-intense but could not be distinguished. Histology confirmed that the anatomical delimitation of the lesion extent by MRI was precise, both with high and moderate resolution. The present investigation thus demonstrates the precision of spinal cord MRI at different survival delays after compressive partial SCI and establishes efficient imaging parameters for postmortem PD MRI.

Delayed GM-CSF treatment stimulates axonal regeneration and functional recovery in paraplegic rats via an increased BDNF expression by endogenous macrophages.

Macrophages (monocytes/microglia) could play a critical role in central nervous system repair. We have previously found a synchronism between the regression of spontaneous axonal regeneration and the deactivation of macrophages 3-4 wk after a compression-injury of rat spinal cord. To explore whether reactivation of endogenous macrophages might be beneficial for spinal cord repair, we have studied the effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the same paraplegia model and in cell cultures. There was a significant, though transient, improvement of locomotor recovery after a single delayed intraperitoneal injection of 2 microg GM-CSF, which also increased significantly the expression of Cr3 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by macrophages at the lesion site. At longer survival delays, axonal regeneration was significantly enhanced in GM-CSF-treated rats. In vitro, BV2 microglial cells expressed higher levels of BDNF in the presence of GM-CSF and neurons cocultured with microglial cells activated by GM-CSF generated more neurites, an effect blocked by a BDNF antibody. These experiments suggest that GM-CSF could be an interesting treatment option for spinal cord injury and that its beneficial effects might be mediated by BDNF.

Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Schwann Cell Plasticity.

Schwann cell incredible plasticity is a hallmark of the utmost importance following nerve damage or in demyelinating neuropathies. After injury, Schwann cells undergo dedifferentiation before redifferentiating to promote nerve regeneration and complete functional recovery. This review updates and discusses the molecular mechanisms involved in the negative regulation of myelination as well as in the reprogramming of Schwann cells taking place early following nerve lesion to support repair. Significant advance has been made on signaling pathways and molecular components that regulate SC regenerative properties. These include for instance transcriptional regulators such as c-Jun or Notch, the MAPK and the Nrg1/ErbB2/3 pathways. This comprehensive overview ends with some therapeutical applications targeting factors that control Schwann cell plasticity and highlights the need to carefully modulate and balance this capacity to drive nerve repair.

Puzzling Out Synaptic Vesicle 2 Family Members Functions.

Synaptic vesicle proteins 2 (SV2) were discovered in the early 80s, but the clear demonstration that SV2A is the target of efficacious anti-epileptic drugs from the racetam family stimulated efforts to improve understanding of its role in the brain. Many functions have been suggested for SV2 proteins including ions or neurotransmitters transport or priming of SVs. Moreover, several recent studies highlighted the link between SV2 and different neuronal disorders such as epilepsy, Schizophrenia (SCZ), Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. In this review article, we will summarize our present knowledge on SV2A function(s) and its potential role(s) in the pathophysiology of various brain disorders.

Lack of estrogen increases pain in the trigeminal formalin model: a behavioural and immunocytochemical study of transgenic ArKO mice.

In order to examine the effect of estrogen on facial pain, we first compared the face-rubbing evoked by a formalin injection in the lip of aromatase-knockout (ArKO) mice, lacking endogenous estrogen production, 17 beta-estradiol-treated ArKO mice (ArKO-E2) and wild-type (WT) littermates. During the 'acute' phase of pain the time spent rubbing was similar in the three groups, whereas during the following 'interphase' and the second phase of pain, grooming was increased in ArKO mice. Estradiol-treatment restored a behaviour similar to WT group. To better understand estrogens modulation on pain processes, we examined changes in 5-HT and CGRP innervations of trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) in ArKO, ArKO-E2 and WT groups sacrificed during the interphase. Whereas serotonin and CGRP immunoreactivities were comparable in WT and ArKO non-injected control groups, our data showed that 9 min after formalin injection, the density of serotoninergic terminals increased significantly in WT, but not in ArKO mice, while that of CGRP-immunoreactive fibers was lower in WT than in ArKO mice on the injected side. Estradiol-treatment only partially reversed these changes in ArKO-E2 mice. We conclude that estrogen deprivation in ArKO mice can be responsible for increased nociceptive response and that it is accompanied by transmitter changes favouring pro- over anti-nociceptive mechanisms in TNC during interphase of the formalin model. That estradiol-treatment completely reverses the behavioural abnormality suggests that estrogens absence produces chiefly functional activation-dependent changes. However, the fact that the immunohistochemical abnormalities were not totally normalized by estradiol-treatment suggested that some permanent developmental alterations may occur in ArKO mice.

Adult bone marrow mesenchymal and neural crest stem cells are chemoattractive and accelerate motor recovery in a mouse model of spinal cord injury.

INTRODUCTION: Stem cells from adult tissues were considered for a long time as promising tools for regenerative therapy of neurological diseases, including spinal cord injuries (SCI). Indeed, mesenchymal (MSCs) and neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) together constitute the bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) that were used as therapeutic options in various models of experimental SCI. However, as clinical approaches remained disappointing, we thought that reducing BMSC heterogeneity should be a potential way to improve treatment efficiency and reproducibility. METHODS: We investigated the impact of pure populations of MSCs and NCSCs isolated from adult bone marrow in a mouse model of spinal cord injury. We then analyzed the secretome of both MSCs and NCSCs, and its effect on macrophage migration in vitro. RESULTS: We first observed that both cell types induced motor recovery in mice, and modified the inflammatory reaction in the lesion site. We also demonstrated that NCSCs but especially MSCs were able to secrete chemokines and attract macrophages in vitro. Finally, it appears that MSC injection in the spinal cord enhance early inflammatory events in the blood and spinal cord of SCI mice. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our results suggest that both cell types have beneficial effects in experimental SCI, and that further investigation should be dedicated to the regulation of the inflammatory reaction following SCI, in the context of stem cell-based therapy but also in the early-phase clinical management of SCI patients.

The effect of treadmill training on motor recovery after a partial spinal cord compression-injury in the adult rat.

Locomotor training on a treadmill is a therapeutic strategy used for several years in human paraplegics in whom it was shown to improve functional recovery mainly after incomplete spinal cord lesions. The precise mechanisms underlying its effects are not known. Experimental studies in adult animals were chiefly performed after complete spinal transections. The objective of this experiment was to assess the effects of early treadmill training on recovery of spontaneous walking capacity after a partial spinal cord lesion in adult rats. Following a compression-injury by a subdurally inflated microballoon, seven rats were trained daily on a treadmill with a body weight support system, whereas six other animals were used as controls and only handled. Spontaneous walking ability in an open field was compared weekly between both groups by two blinded observers, using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale. Mean BBB score during 12 weeks was globally significantly greater in the treadmill-trained animals than in the control group, the benefit of training appearing as early as the 2nd week. At week 7, locomotor recovery reached a plateau in both animal groups, but remained superior in trained rats. Daily treadmill training started early after a partial spinal cord lesion in adult rats, which accelerates recovery of locomotion and produces a long-term benefit. These findings in an animal model mimicking the closed spinal cord injury occurring in most human paraplegics are useful for future studies of optimal locomotor training programs, their neurobiologic mechanisms, and their combination with other treatment strategies.

Nervous system injury: focus on the inflammatory cytokine 'granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor'.

Any lesion in the nervous system, be it infectious, immunopathological, ischemic or traumatic, is followed by an inflammatory process that induces rapid activation of glial cells and additional recruitment of granulocytes, T-cells and monocytes/macrophages from the blood stream. Neuroinflammation is a double-sided sword. It can cause neuronal damage and participate in neuropathic pain, but it also has neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects at some stages. Cytokines are the main molecular actors of this 'network of inflammation'. Among them, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a pro-inflammatory hematopoietic cytokine widely used in haematological disorders to stimulate proliferation and differentiation of neutrophilic, eosinophilic and monocytic lineages. GM-CSF and its receptor are expressed in the brain and the cytokine can cross the blood-brain barrier. It is thus likely to affect various nervous system functions. This review will focus on the role of GM-CSF in nervous system disorders and their experimental models with particular emphasis on its possible beneficial effect on axonal regeneration after PNS and CNS injury.

Bone marrow stromal stem cells transplantation in mice with acute spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injured experimental animals are widely used for studying pathophysiological processes after central nervous system acute traumatic lesion and elaborating therapeutic solutions, some of them based on stem cell transplantation. Here, we describe a protocol of spinal cord contusion in C57BL/6J mice, directly followed by bone marrow stromal stem cells transplantation. This model allows for the characterization of neuroprotective and neurorestorative abilities of these stem cells in a context of spinal cord trauma.

Conditioned medium from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells improves recovery after spinal cord injury in rats: an original strategy to avoid cell transplantation.

Spinal cord injury triggers irreversible loss of motor and sensory functions. Numerous strategies aiming at repairing the injured spinal cord have been studied. Among them, the use of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is promising. Indeed, these cells possess interesting properties to modulate CNS environment and allow axon regeneration and functional recovery. Unfortunately, BMSC survival and differentiation within the host spinal cord remain poor, and these cells have been found to have various adverse effects when grafted in other pathological contexts. Moreover, paracrine-mediated actions have been proposed to explain the beneficial effects of BMSC transplantation after spinal cord injury. We thus decided to deliver BMSC-released factors to spinal cord injured rats and to study, in parallel, their properties in vitro. We show that, in vitro, BMSC-conditioned medium (BMSC-CM) protects neurons from apoptosis, activates macrophages and is pro-angiogenic. In vivo, BMSC-CM administered after spinal cord contusion improves motor recovery. Histological analysis confirms the pro-angiogenic action of BMSC-CM, as well as a tissue protection effect. Finally, the characterization of BMSC-CM by cytokine array and ELISA identified trophic factors as well as cytokines likely involved in the beneficial observed effects. In conclusion, our results support the paracrine-mediated mode of action of BMSCs and raise the possibility to develop a cell-free therapeutic approach.