TY - JOUR A1 - Berve, Kristina A1 - West, Brian L. A1 - Martini, Rudolf A1 - Groh, Janos T1 - Sex- and region-biased depletion of microglia/macrophages attenuates CLN1 disease in mice JF - Journal of Neuroinflammation N2 - Background The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (CLN diseases) are fatal lysosomal storage diseases causing neurodegeneration in the CNS. We have previously shown that neuroinflammation comprising innate and adaptive immune reactions drives axonal damage and neuron loss in the CNS of palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1-deficient (Ppt1\(^{-/-}\)) mice, a model of the infantile form of the diseases (CLN1). Therefore, we here explore whether pharmacological targeting of innate immune cells modifies disease outcome in CLN1 mice. Methods We applied treatment with PLX3397 (150 ppm in the chow), a potent inhibitor of the colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) to target innate immune cells in CLN1 mice. Experimental long-term treatment was non-invasively monitored by longitudinal optical coherence tomography and rotarod analysis, as well as analysis of visual acuity, myoclonic jerks, and survival. Treatment effects regarding neuroinflammation, neural damage, and neurodegeneration were subsequently analyzed by histology and immunohistochemistry. Results We show that PLX3397 treatment attenuates neuroinflammation in CLN1 mice by depleting pro-inflammatory microglia/macrophages. This leads to a reduction of T lymphocyte recruitment, an amelioration of axon damage and neuron loss in the retinotectal system, as well as reduced thinning of the inner retina and total brain atrophy. Accordingly, long-term treatment with the inhibitor also ameliorates clinical outcomes in CLN1 mice, such as impaired motor coordination, visual acuity, and myoclonic jerks. However, we detected a sex- and region-biased efficacy of CSF-1R inhibition, with male microglia/macrophages showing higher responsiveness toward depletion, especially in the gray matter of the CNS. This results in a better treatment outcome in male Ppt1\(^{-/-}\) mice regarding some histopathological and clinical readouts and reflects heterogeneity of innate immune reactions in the diseased CNS. Conclusions Our results demonstrate a detrimental impact of innate immune reactions in the CNS of CLN1 mice. These findings provide insights into CLN pathogenesis and may guide in the design of immunomodulatory treatment strategies. KW - Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis KW - Microglia KW - Macrophages KW - T lymphocytes KW - Neurodegeneration KW - Axon degeneration Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230234 VL - 17 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gunesch, Sandra A1 - Hoffmann, Matthias A1 - Kiermeier, Carolina A1 - Fischer, Wolfgang A1 - Pinto, Antonio F. M. A1 - Maurice, Tangui A1 - Maher, Pamela A1 - Decker, Michael T1 - 7-O-Esters of taxifolin with pronounced and overadditive effects in neuroprotection, anti-neuroinflammation, and amelioration of short-term memory impairment in vivo JF - Redox Biology N2 - Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial disease and the most common form of dementia. There are no treatments to cure, prevent or slow down the progression of the disease. Natural products hold considerable interest for the development of preventive neuroprotectants to treat neurodegenerative disorders like AD, due to their low toxicity and general beneficial effects on human health with their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant features. In this work we describe regioselective synthesis of 7-O-ester hybrids of the flavonoid taxifolin with the phenolic acids cinnamic and ferulic acid, namely 7-O-cinnamoyltaxifolin and 7-O-feruloyltaxifolin. The compounds show pronounced overadditive neuroprotective effects against oxytosis, ferroptosis and ATP depletion in the murine hippocampal neuron HT22 cell model. Furthermore, 7-O-cinnamoyltaxifolin and 7-O-feruloyltaxifolin reduced LPS-induced neuroinflammation in BV-2 microglia cells as assessed by effects on the levels of NO, IL6 and TNFα. In all in vitro assays the 7-O-esters of taxifolin and ferulic or cinnamic acid showed strong overadditive activity, significantly exceeding the effects of the individual components and the equimolar mixtures thereof, which were almost inactive in all of the assays at the tested concentrations. In vivo studies confirmed this overadditive effect. Treatment of an AD mouse model based on the injection of oligomerized Aβ\(_{25-35}\) peptide into the brain to cause neurotoxicity and subsequently memory deficits with 7-O-cinnamoyltaxifolin or 7-O-feruloyltaxifolin resulted in improved performance in an assay for short-term memory as compared to vehicle and mice treated with the respective equimolar mixtures. These results highlight the benefits of natural product hybrids as a novel compound class with potential use for drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases due to their pharmacological profile that is distinct from the individual natural components. KW - Alzheimer's disease KW - Natural product hybrids KW - Flavonoids KW - Phenolic acids KW - Microglia KW - In vivo studies Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-202718 VL - 29 ER -