title: Accelerated phagocytosis of amyloid-beta by mouse and human microglia overexpressing the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor.
abstract: Microglia surrounding A beta plaques in Alzheimer's disease and in the APPV717F transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease have enhanced immunoreactivity for the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (M-CSFR), encoded by the proto-oncogene c-fms. Increased expression of M-CSFR on cultured microglia results in proliferation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and expression of inducible nitric-oxide synthase. We transfected mouse BV-2 and human SV-A3 microglia to overexpress M-CSFR and examined microglial phagocytosis of fluorescein-conjugated A beta. Flow cytometry and laser confocal microscopy showed accelerated phagocytosis of A beta in mouse and human microglia because of M-CSFR overexpression that was time- and concentration-dependent. In contrast, microglial uptake of 1-microm diameter polystyrene microspheres was not enhanced by M-CSFR overexpression. Microglial uptake of A beta was blocked by cytochalasin D, which inhibits phagocytosis. M-CSFR overexpression increased the mRNA for macrophage scavenger receptor A, and fucoidan blocking of macrophage scavenger receptors inhibited uptake of A beta. M-CSFR antibody blocking experiments demonstrated that increased A beta uptake depended on the interaction of the M-CSFR with its ligand. These results suggest that overexpression of M-CSFR in APPV717F mice may prime microglia for phagocytosis of A beta after immunization.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Laboratories, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5485, USA.
authors.forename: Olivera M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Mitrasinovic
authors.forename: Greer M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D010587:Phagocytosis; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016186:Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D017931:DNA Primers; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016186:Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor