Publications

What is a Publication?
5 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 5

Abstract (Expand)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory neurological disease of the central nervous system with a subclinical phase preceding frank neuroinflammation. CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells are abundant within MS lesions, but their potential role in disease pathology remains unclear. Using high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell T cell receptor analysis, we compared CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell clones from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of monozygotic twin pairs in which the cotwin had either no or subclinical neuroinflammation (SCNI). We identified peripheral MS-associated immunological and metabolic alterations indicative of an enhanced migratory, proinflammatory, and activated CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell phenotype, which was also evident in cotwins with SCNI and in an independent validation cohort of people with MS. Together, our in-depth single-cell analysis indicates a disease-driving proinflammatory role of infiltrating CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells and identifies potential immunological and metabolic therapeutic targets in both prodromal and definitive stages of the disease.

Authors: Vladyslav Kavaka, Luisa Mutschler, Clara de la Rosa Del Val, Klara Eglseer, Ana M Gómez Martínez, Andrea Flierl-Hecht, Birgit Ertl-Wagner, Daniel Keeser, Martin Mortazavi, Klaus Seelos, Hanna Zimmermann, Jürgen Haas, Brigitte Wildemann, Tania Kümpfel, Klaus Dornmair, Thomas Korn, Reinhard Hohlfeld, Martin Kerschensteiner, Lisa Ann Gerdes, Eduardo Beltrán

Date Published: 27th Sep 2024

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves the infiltration of autoreactive T cells into the CNS, yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of the signaling pathways that regulate this process. Here, we conducted a genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen in a rat MS model and identified 5 essential brakes and 18 essential facilitators of T cell migration to the CNS. While the transcription factor ETS1 limits entry to the CNS by controlling T cell responsiveness, three functional modules, centered around the adhesion molecule alpha4-integrin, the chemokine receptor CXCR3 and the GRK2 kinase, are required for CNS migration of autoreactive CD4(+) T cells. Single-cell analysis of T cells from individuals with MS confirmed that the expression of these essential regulators correlates with the propensity of CD4(+) T cells to reach the CNS. Our data thus reveal key regulators of the fundamental step in the induction of MS lesions.

Authors: A. Kendirli, C. de la Rosa, K. F. Lammle, K. Eglseer, I. J. Bauer, V. Kavaka, S. Winklmeier, L. Zhuo, C. Wichmann, L. A. Gerdes, T. Kumpfel, K. Dornmair, E. Beltran, M. Kerschensteiner, N. Kawakami

Date Published: 4th Oct 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

Inflammation in the central nervous system can impair the function of neuronal mitochondria and contributes to axon degeneration in the common neuroinflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we combine cell-type-specific mitochondrial proteomics with in vivo biosensor imaging to dissect how inflammation alters the molecular composition and functional capacity of neuronal mitochondria. We show that neuroinflammatory lesions in the mouse spinal cord cause widespread and persisting axonal ATP deficiency, which precedes mitochondrial oxidation and calcium overload. This axonal energy deficiency is associated with impaired electron transport chain function, but also an upstream imbalance of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes, with several, including key rate-limiting, enzymes being depleted in neuronal mitochondria in experimental models and in MS lesions. Notably, viral overexpression of individual TCA enzymes can ameliorate the axonal energy deficits in neuroinflammatory lesions, suggesting that TCA cycle dysfunction in MS may be amendable to therapy.

Authors: Y. H. Tai, D. Engels, G. Locatelli, I. Emmanouilidis, C. Fecher, D. Theodorou, S. A. Muller, S. Licht-Mayer, M. Kreutzfeldt, I. Wagner, N. P. de Mello, S. N. Gkotzamani, L. Trovo, A. Kendirli, A. Aljovic, M. O. Breckwoldt, R. Naumann, F. M. Bareyre, F. Perocchi, D. Mahad, D. Merkler, S. F. Lichtenthaler, M. Kerschensteiner, T. Misgeld

Date Published: 25th Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

The bone marrow in the skull is important for shaping immune responses in the brain and meninges, but its molecular makeup among bones and relevance in human diseases remain unclear. Here, we show that the mouse skull has the most distinct transcriptomic profile compared with other bones in states of health and injury, characterized by a late-stage neutrophil phenotype. In humans, proteome analysis reveals that the skull marrow is the most distinct, with differentially expressed neutrophil-related pathways and a unique synaptic protein signature. 3D imaging demonstrates the structural and cellular details of human skull-meninges connections (SMCs) compared with veins. Last, using translocator protein positron emission tomography (TSPO-PET) imaging, we show that the skull bone marrow reflects inflammatory brain responses with a disease-specific spatial distribution in patients with various neurological disorders. The unique molecular profile and anatomical and functional connections of the skull show its potential as a site for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating brain diseases.

Authors: Zeynep Ilgin Kolabas, Louis B Kuemmerle, Robert Perneczky, Benjamin Förstera, Selin Ulukaya, Mayar Ali, Saketh Kapoor, Laura M Bartos, Maren Büttner, Ozum Sehnaz Caliskan, Zhouyi Rong, Hongcheng Mai, Luciano Höher, Denise Jeridi, Muge Molbay, Igor Khalin, Ioannis K Deligiannis, Moritz Negwer, Kenny Roberts, Alba Simats, Olga Carofiglio, Mihail I Todorov, Izabela Horvath, Furkan Ozturk, Selina Hummel, Gloria Biechele, Artem Zatcepin, Marcus Unterrainer, Johannes Gnörich, Jay Roodselaar, Joshua Shrouder, Pardis Khosravani, Benjamin Tast, Lisa Richter, Laura Díaz-Marugán, Doris Kaltenecker, Laurin Lux, Ying Chen, Shan Zhao, Boris-Stephan Rauchmann, Michael Sterr, Ines Kunze, Karen Stanic, Vanessa W Y Kan, Simon Besson-Girard, Sabrina Katzdobler, Carla Palleis, Julia Schädler, Johannes C Paetzold, Sabine Liebscher, Anja E Hauser, Özgün Gökçe, Heiko Lickert, Hanno Steinke, Corinne Benakis, Christian Braun, Celia P Martinez-Jimenez, Katharina Buerger, Nathalie L Albert, Günter Höglinger, Johannes Levin, Christian Haass, Anna Kopczak, Martin Dichgans, Joachim Havla, Tania Kümpfel, Martin Kerschensteiner, Martina Schifferer, Mikael Simons, Arthur Liesz, Natalie Krahmer, Omer A Bayraktar, Nicolai Franzmeier, Nikolaus Plesnila, Suheda Erener, Victor G Puelles, Claire Delbridge, Harsharan Singh Bhatia, Farida Hellal, Markus Elsner, Ingo Bechmann, Benjamin Ondruschka, Matthias Brendel, Fabian J Theis, Ali Ertürk

Date Published: 17th Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

Cortical pathology contributes to chronic cognitive impairment of patients suffering from the neuroinflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). How such gray matter inflammation affects neuronal structure and function is not well understood. In the present study, we use functional and structural in vivo imaging in a mouse model of cortical MS to demonstrate that bouts of cortical inflammation disrupt cortical circuit activity coincident with a widespread, but transient, loss of dendritic spines. Spines destined for removal show local calcium accumulations and are subsequently removed by invading macrophages or activated microglia. Targeting phagocyte activation with a new antagonist of the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor prevents cortical synapse loss. Overall, our study identifies synapse loss as a key pathological feature of inflammatory gray matter lesions that is amenable to immunomodulatory therapy.

Authors: Mehrnoosh Jafari, Adrian-Minh Schumacher, Nicolas Snaidero, Emily M Ullrich Gavilanes, Tradite Neziraj, Virág Kocsis-Jutka, Daniel Engels, Tanja Jürgens, Ingrid Wagner, Juan Daniel Flórez Weidinger, Stephanie S Schmidt, Eduardo Beltrán, Nellwyn Hagan, Lisa Woodworth, Dimitry Ofengeim, Joseph Gans, Fred Wolf, Mario Kreutzfeldt, Ruben Portugues, Doron Merkler, Thomas Misgeld, Martin Kerschensteiner

Date Published: 25th Jan 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Powered by
(v.1.15.0)
Copyright © 2008 - 2024 The University of Manchester and HITS gGmbH