Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive dysfunction of central neurons. Recent experimental evidence indicates that in the cortex, in addition to the silencing of a fraction of ...neurons, other neurons are hyperactive in amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque-enriched regions. However, it has remained unknown what comes first, neuronal silencing or hyperactivity, and what mechanisms might underlie the primary neuronal dysfunction. Here we examine the activity patterns of hippocampal CA1 neurons in a mouse model of AD in vivo using two-photon Ca2+ imaging. We found that neuronal activity in the plaque-bearing CA1 region of older mice is profoundly altered. There was a marked increase in the fractions of both silent and hyperactive neurons, as previously also found in the cortex. Remarkably, in the hippocampus of young mice, we observed a selective increase in hyperactive neurons already before the formation of plaques, suggesting that soluble species of Aβ may underlie this impairment. Indeed, we found that acute treatment with the γ-secretase inhibitor LY-411575 reduces soluble Aβ levels and rescues the neuronal dysfunction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that direct application of soluble Aβ can induce neuronal hyperactivity in wild-type mice. Thus, our study identifies hippocampal hyperactivity as a very early functional impairment in AD transgenic mice and provides direct evidence that soluble Aβ is crucial for hippocampal hyperactivity.
Filamentous inclusions made of hyperphosphorylated tau are characteristic of numerous human neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, tangle-only dementia, Pick disease, argyrophilic ...grain disease (AGD), progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration. In Alzheimer’s disease and AGD, it has been shown that filamentous tau appears to spread in a stereotypic manner as the disease progresses. We previously demonstrated that the injection of brain extracts from human mutant P301S tau-expressing transgenic mice into the brains of mice transgenic for wild-type human tau (line ALZ17) resulted in the assembly of wild-type human tau into filaments and the spreading of tau inclusions from the injection sites to anatomically connected brain regions. Here we injected brain extracts from humans who had died with various tauopathies into the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of ALZ17 mice. Argyrophilic tau inclusions formed in all cases and following the injection of the corresponding brain extracts, we recapitulated the hallmark lesions of AGD, PSP and CBD. Similar inclusions also formed after intracerebral injection of brain homogenates from human tauopathies into nontransgenic mice. Moreover, the induced formation of tau aggregates could be propagated between mouse brains. These findings suggest that once tau aggregates have formed in discrete brain areas, they become self-propagating and spread in a prion-like manner.
Eosinophilia is a hallmark of helminth infections and eosinophils are essential in the protective immune responses against helminths. Nevertheless, the distinct role of eosinophils during parasitic ...filarial infection, allergy and autoimmune disease-driven pathology is still not sufficiently understood. In this study, we established a mouse model for microfilariae-induced eosinophilic lung disease (ELD), a manifestation caused by eosinophil hyper-responsiveness within the lung.
Wild-type (WT) BALB/c mice were sensitized with dead microfilariae (MF) of the rodent filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis three times at weekly intervals and subsequently challenged with viable MF to induce ELD. The resulting immune response was compared to non-sensitized WT mice as well as sensitized eosinophil-deficient dblGATA mice using flow cytometry, lung histology and ELISA. Additionally, the impact of IL-33 signaling on ELD development was investigated using the IL-33 antagonist HpARI2.
ELD-induced WT mice displayed an increased type 2 immune response in the lung with increased frequencies of eosinophils, alternatively activated macrophages and group 2 innate lymphoid cells, as well as higher peripheral blood IgE, IL-5 and IL-33 levels in comparison to mice challenged only with viable MF or PBS. ELD mice had an increased MF retention in lung tissue, which was in line with an enhanced MF clearance from peripheral blood. Using eosinophil-deficient dblGATA mice, we demonstrate that eosinophils are essentially involved in driving the type 2 immune response and retention of MF in the lung of ELD mice. Furthermore, we demonstrate that IL-33 drives eosinophil activation in vitro and inhibition of IL-33 signaling during ELD induction reduces pulmonary type 2 immune responses, eosinophil activation and alleviates lung lacunarity. In conclusion, we demonstrate that IL-33 signaling is essentially involved in MF-induced ELD development.
Our study demonstrates that repeated sensitization of BALB/c mice with L. sigmodontis MF induces pulmonary eosinophilia in an IL-33-dependent manner. The newly established model recapitulates the characteristic features known to occur during eosinophilic lung diseases (ELD) such as human tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE), which includes the retention of microfilariae in the lung tissue and induction of pulmonary eosinophilia and type 2 immune responses. Our study provides compelling evidence that IL-33 drives eosinophil activation during ELD and that blocking IL-33 signaling using HpARI2 reduces eosinophil activation, eosinophil accumulation in the lung tissue, suppresses type 2 immune responses and mitigates the development of structural damage to the lung. Consequently, IL-33 is a potential therapeutic target to reduce eosinophil-mediated pulmonary pathology.
Filarial nematodes can cause debilitating diseases such as lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Oxfendazole (OXF) is one promising macrofilaricidal candidate with improved oral availability ...compared to flubendazole (FBZ), and OXF is currently under preparation for phase 2 clinical trials in filariasis patients. This study aimed to investigate the immune system's role during treatment with OXF and FBZ and explore the potential to boost the treatment efficacy via stimulation of the immune system. Wild type (WT) BALB/c, eosinophil-deficient
,
, antibody-deficient μMT and B-, T-, NK-cell and ILC-deficient
mice were infected with the rodent filaria
and treated with an optimal and suboptimal regimen of OXF and FBZ for up to 5 days. In the second part, WT mice were treated for 2-3 days with a combination of OXF and IL-4, IL-5, or IL-33. Treatment of WT mice reduced the adult worm burden by up to 94% (OXF) and 100% (FBZ) compared to vehicle controls. In contrast, treatment efficacy was lower in all immunodeficient strains with a reduction of up to 90% (OXF) and 75% (FBZ) for
, 50 and 92% for
, 64 and 78% for μMT or 0% for
mice. The effect of OXF on microfilariae and embryogenesis displayed a similar pattern, while FBZ's ability to prevent microfilaremia was independent of the host's immune status. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis revealed strain-and treatment-specific immunological changes. The efficacy of a shortened 3-day treatment of OXF (-33% adult worms vs. vehicle) could be boosted to a 91% worm burden reduction via combination with IL-5, but not IL-4 or IL-33. Our results suggest that various components of the immune system support the filaricidal effect of benzimidazoles
and present an opportunity to boost treatment efficacy.
Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are inducers of type 2 immune responses, but their role during filarial infection remains unclear. In the present study, we used the
Litomosoides sigmodontis
...rodent model of filariasis to analyze ILC2s during infection in susceptible BALB/c mice that develop a chronic infection with microfilaremia and semi-susceptible C57BL/6 mice that eliminate the filariae shortly after the molt into adult worms and thus do not develop microfilaremia. ILC2s (CD45
+
Lineage
-
TCRβ
-
CD90.2
+
Sca-1
+
IL-33R
+
GATA-3
+
) were analyzed in the pleural cavity, the site of
L. sigmodontis
infection, after the infective L3 larvae reached the pleural cavity (9 days post infection, dpi), after the molt into adult worms (30dpi) and during the peak of microfilaremia (70dpi). C57BL/6 mice had significantly increased ILC2 numbers compared to BALB/c mice at 30dpi, accompanied by substantially higher IL-5 and IL-13 levels, indicating a stronger type 2 immune response in C57BL/6 mice upon
L. sigmodontis
infection. At this time point the ILC2 numbers positively correlated with the worm burden in both mouse strains. ILC2s and GATA-3
+
CD4
+
T cells were the dominant source of IL-5 in
L. sigmodontis
-infected C57BL/6 mice with ILC2s showing a significantly higher IL-5 expression than CD4
+
T cells. To investigate the importance of ILC2s during
L. sigmodontis
infection, ILC2s were depleted with anti-CD90.2 antibodies in T and B cell-deficient
Rag2
-/-
C57BL/6 mice on 26-28dpi and the outcome of infection was compared to isotype controls.
Rag2
-/-
mice were per se susceptible to
L. sigmodontis
infection with significantly higher worm burden than C57BL/6 mice and developed microfilaremia. Depletion of ILC2s did not result in an increased worm burden in
Rag2
-/-
mice, but led to significantly higher microfilariae numbers compared to isotype controls. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that ILC2s are essentially involved in the control of microfilaremia in
Rag2
-/-
C57BL/6 mice.
The accumulation of amyloid-β in the brain is an essential feature of Alzheimer's disease. However, the impact of amyloid-β-accumulation on neuronal dysfunction on the single cell level in vivo is ...poorly understood. Here we investigate the progression of amyloid-β load in relation to neuronal dysfunction in the visual system of the APP23×PS45 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging in the visual cortex, we demonstrate that a progressive deterioration of neuronal tuning for the orientation of visual stimuli occurs in parallel with the age-dependent increase of the amyloid-β load. Importantly, we find this deterioration only in neurons that are hyperactive during spontaneous activity. This impairment of visual cortical circuit function also correlates with pronounced deficits in visual-pattern discrimination. Together, our results identify distinct stages of decline in sensory cortical performance in vivo as a function of the increased amyloid-β-load.
Cerebral malaria is a potentially lethal disease, which is caused by excessive inflammatory responses to
parasites. Here we use a newly developed transgenic
ANKA (
) parasite that can be used to ...study parasite-specific T cell responses. Our present study demonstrates that
mice, which lack type I interferon receptor-dependent signaling, are protected from experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) when infected with this novel parasite. Although CD8
T cell responses generated in the spleen are essential for the development of ECM, we measured comparable parasite-specific cytotoxic T cell responses in ECM-protected
mice and wild type mice suffering from ECM. Importantly, CD8
T cells were increased in the spleens of ECM-protected
mice and the blood-brain-barrier remained intact. This was associated with elevated splenic levels of CCL5, a T cell and eosinophil chemotactic chemokine, which was mainly produced by eosinophils, and an increase in eosinophil numbers. Depletion of eosinophils enhanced CD8
T cell infiltration into the brain and increased ECM induction in
-infected
mice. However, eosinophil-depletion did not reduce the CD8
T cell population in the spleen or reduce splenic CCL5 concentrations. Our study demonstrates that eosinophils impact CD8
T cell migration and proliferation during
-infection in
mice and thereby are contributing to the protection from ECM.
A causal role of the complement system in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis has been postulated based on the identification of different activated components up to the membrane attack complex at ...amyloid plaques in brain. However, histological studies of amyloid plaque bearing APP transgenic mice provided only evidence for an activation of the early parts of the complement cascade. To better understand the contribution of normal aging and amyloid deposition to the increase in complement activation we performed a detailed characterization of the expression of the major mouse complement components.
APP23 mice expressing human APP751 with the Swedish double mutation as well as C57BL/6 mice were used at different ages. mRNA was quantified by Realtime PCR and the age- as well as amyloid induced changes determined. The protein levels of complement C1q and C3 were analysed by Western blotting. Histology was done to test for amyloid plaque association and activation of the complement cascade.
High mRNA levels were detected for C1q and some inhibitory complement components. The expression of most activating components starting at C3 was low. Expression of C1q, C3, C4, C5 and factor B mRNA increased with age in control C57BL/6 mice. C1q and C3 mRNA showed a substantial additional elevation during amyloid formation in APP23 mice. This increase was confirmed on the protein level using Western blotting, whereas immunohistology indicated a recruitment of complement to amyloid plaques up to the C3 convertase.
Early but not late components of the mouse complement system show an age-dependent increase in expression. The response to amyloid deposition is comparatively smaller. The low expression of C3 and C5 and failure to upregulate C5 and downstream components differs from human AD brain and likely contributes to the lack of full complement activation in APP transgenic mice.
More than two-hundred-million people are infected with filariae worldwide. However, there is no vaccine available that confers long-lasting protection against filarial infections. Previous studies ...indicated that vaccination with irradiated infective L3 larvae reduces the worm load. This present study investigated whether the additional activation of cytosolic nucleic acid receptors as an adjuvant improves the efficacy of vaccination with irradiated L3 larvae of the rodent filaria
with the aim of identifying novel vaccination strategies for filarial infections. Subcutaneous injection of irradiated L3 larvae in combination with poly(I:C) or 3pRNA resulted in neutrophil recruitment to the skin, accompanied by higher IP-10/CXCL10 and IFN-β RNA levels. To investigate the impact on parasite clearance, BALB/c mice received three subcutaneous injections in 2-week intervals with irradiated L3 larvae in combination with poly(I:C) or 3pRNA prior to the challenge infection. Vaccination with irradiated L3 larvae in combination with poly(I:C) or 3pRNA led to a markedly greater reduction in adult-worm counts by 73% and 57%, respectively, compared to the immunization with irradiated L3 larvae alone (45%). In conclusion, activation of nucleic acid-sensing immune receptors boosts the protective immune response against
and nucleic acid-receptor agonists as vaccine adjuvants represent a promising novel strategy to improve the efficacy of vaccines against filariae and potentially other helminths.
Eosinophils mediate protection against filarial nematodes. Our results demonstrate that eosinophil extracellular traps (EETosis) are induced by microfilariae and infective L3 larvae of Litomosoides ...sigmodontis. These extracellular DNA traps inhibit microfilariae motility in a DNA- and contact-dependent manner in vitro. Accordingly, microfilariae-injection triggers DNA release in an eosinophil-dependent manner in vivo and microfilariae covered with DNA traps are cleared more rapidly. Using dectin-1, we identify the required receptor for the microfilariae-induced EETosis, whereas signaling via other C-type lectin receptors, prior priming of eosinophils, and presence of antibodies are not required. The DNA released upon microfilariae-induced EETosis is mainly of mitochondrial origin, but acetylated and citrullinated histones are found within the traps. We further demonstrate that the presented DNA-dependent inhibition of microfilariae motility by eosinophils represents a conserved mechanism, as microfilariae from L. sigmodontis and the canine heartworm Dirofilaria immitis induce ETosis in murine and human eosinophils.
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•Eosinophils release extracellular DNA traps and inhibit microfilariae motility•Microfilariae-induced eosinophil extracellular DNA traps are a conserved mechanism•Microfilariae trigger DNA release by eosinophils through the dectin-1 receptor•Microfilariae coated with DNA traps are cleared more efficiently in vivo
Parasitic filariae (thread worms) cause debilitating diseases, and eosinophils are essential for protective immune responses against filariae. The mechanism by which eosinophils mediate protection is not fully understood. Ehrens et al. emphasize the importance of eosinophil extracellular DNA traps in trapping infective larval stages and the progeny of filarial worms.
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