Research
CD137 ligand activated microglia induces oligodendrocyte apoptosis via reactive oxygen species
1 Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Centre for Translational Medicine, 14 Medical Drive #14-02T, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
2 Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Block MD4, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
3 Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Blk MD10, 4 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
4 Immunology Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
5 NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Journal of Neuroinflammation 2012, 9:173 doi:10.1186/1742-2094-9-173
Published: 16 July 2012Abstract
CD137 (4-1BB, TNFRSF9), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family, is a potent T cell co-stimulatory molecule. CD137 ligand (CD137L) is expressed by antigen presenting cells (APC) as a transmembrane protein and transmits activating signals into APC. In this study we investigated the effects of CD137L signaling in microglia, the resident APC in the central nervous system. In vitro, the murine microglia cell lines BV-2 and N9, as well as primary murine microglia responded with activation as evidenced by adherence and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, MMP-9, and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM). CD137L signaling is also important for microglia activation in vivo, since CD137L-deficient mice exhibited profoundly less microglia activation during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) which is a well-established murine model for neuroinflammation and human multiple sclerosis (MS). Also CD137 is expressed in the CNS of mice during EAE. Activated microglia has been reported to mediate the destruction of axonal myelin sheaths and cause the death of oligodendrocytes, the main pathogenic mechanisms in EAE and MS. Corresponding to the lower microglia activation there were also fewer apoptotic oligodendrocytes in the CNS of CD137L-deficient mice. In vitro co-culture confirmed that CD137L-activated microglia induces apoptosis in oligodendrocytes, and identified reactive oxygen species as the mechanism of apoptosis induction. These data demonstrate activating effects of CD137L signaling to microglia, and show for the first time that the CD137 receptor/ligand system may be a mediator of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease, by activating microglia which in turn kill oligodendrocytes.
