Research
Apolipoprotein E-specific innate immune response in astrocytes from targeted replacement mice
1 Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
2 Department of Pathology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Journal of Neuroinflammation 2006, 3:10 doi:10.1186/1742-2094-3-10
Published: 7 April 2006Abstract
Background
Inheritance of the three different alleles of the human apolipoprotein (apo) E gene (APOE) are associated with varying risk or clinical outcome from a variety of neurologic diseases. ApoE isoform-specific modulation of several pathogenic processes, in addition to amyloid β metabolism in Alzheimer's disease, have been proposed: one of these is innate immune response by glia. Previously we have shown that primary microglia cultures from targeted replacement (TR) APOE mice have apoE isoform-dependent innate immune activation and paracrine damage to neurons that is greatest with TR by the ε4 allele (TR APOE4) and that derives from p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) activity.
Methods
Primary cultures of TR APOE2, TR APOE3 and TR APOE4 astrocytes were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ApoE secretion, cytokine production, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) subunit activity were measured and compared.
Results
Here we showed that activation of primary astrocytes from TR APOE mice with LPS led to TR APOE-dependent differences in cytokine secretion that were greatest in TR APOE2 and that were associated with differences in NF-κB subunit activity.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that LPS activation of innate immune response in TR APOE glia results in opposing outcomes from microglia and astrocytes as a result of TR APOE-dependent activation of p38MAPK or NF-κB signaling in these two cell types.
