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Microglial Activation by Microbial Neuraminidase Through TLR2 and TLR4 Receptors

María Del Mar Fernández-Arjona, Jesús M Grondona, Pedro Fernández-Llebrez, María Dolores López-Ávalos

J Neuroinflammation. 2019 Dec 2;16(1):245.

PMID: 31791382

Abstract:

Background:
Neuraminidase (NA) is a sialidase present, among various locations, in the envelope/membrane of some bacteria/viruses (e.g., influenza virus), and is involved in infectiveness and/or dispersion. The administration of NA within the brain lateral ventricle represents a model of acute sterile inflammation. The relevance of the Toll-like receptors TLR2 and TLR4 (particularly those in microglial cells) in such process was investigated.
Methods:
Mouse strains deficient in either TLR2 (TLR2-/-) or TLR4 (TLR4-/-) were used. NA was injected in the lateral ventricle, and the inflammatory reaction was studied by immunohistochemistry (IBA1 and IL-1β) and qPCR (cytokine response). Also, microglia was isolated from those strains and in vitro stimulated with NA, or with TLR2/TLR4 agonists as positive controls (P3C and LPS respectively). The relevance of the sialidase activity of NA was investigated by stimulating microglia with heat-inactivated NA, or with native NA in the presence of sialidase inhibitors (oseltamivir phosphate and N-acetyl-2,3-dehydro-2-deoxyneuraminic acid).
Results:
In septofimbria and hypothalamus, IBA1-positive and IL-1β-positive cell counts increased after NA injection in wild type (WT) mice. In TLR4-/- mice, such increases were largely abolished, while were only slightly diminished in TLR2-/- mice. Similarly, the NA-induced expression of IL-1β, TNFα, and IL-6 was completely blocked in TLR4-/- mice, and only partially reduced in TLR2-/- mice. In isolated cultured microglia, NA induced a cytokine response (IL-1β, TNFα, and IL-6) in WT microglia, but was unable to do so in TLR4-/- microglia; TLR2 deficiency partially affected the NA-induced microglial response. When WT microglia was exposed in vitro to heat-inactivated NA or to native NA along with sialidase inhibitors, the NA-induced microglia activation was almost completely abrogated.
Conclusions:
NA is able to directly activate microglial cells, and it does so mostly acting through the TLR4 receptor, while TLR2 has a secondary role. Accordingly, the inflammatory reaction induced by NA in vivo is partially dependent on TLR2, while TLR4 plays a crucial role. Also, the sialidase activity of NA is critical for microglial activation. These results highlight the relevance of microbial NA in the neuroinflammation provoked by NA-bearing pathogens and the possibility of targeting its sialidase activity to ameliorate its impact.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number Product Name Structure CAS Number Price
AP24967279 N-Acetyl-2,3-dehydro-2-deoxyneuraminic acid N-Acetyl-2,3-dehydro-2-deoxyneuraminic acid 24967-27-9 Price
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