Exaggerated inflammation, impaired host defense, and neuropathology in progranulin-deficient mice.
Progranulin (PGRN) is a widely expressed protein involved in diverse biological processes. Haploinsufficiency of PGRN in the human causes tau-negative, ubiquitin-positive frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, the mechanisms are unknown. To explore the role of PGRN in vivo, we generated PGRN-deficient mice. Macrophages from these mice released less interleukin-10 and more inflammatory cytokines than wild type (WT) when exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. PGRN-deficient mice failed to clear Listeria monocytogenes infection as quickly as WT and allowed bacteria to proliferate in the brain, with correspondingly greater inflammation than in WT. PGRN-deficient macrophages and microglia were cytotoxic to hippocampal cells in vitro, and PGRN-deficient hippocampal slices were hypersusceptible to deprivation of oxygen and glucose. With age, brains of PGRN-deficient mice displayed greater activation of microglia and astrocytes than WT, and their hippocampal and thalamic neurons accumulated cytosolic phosphorylated transactivation response element DNA binding protein-43. Thus, PGRN is a key regulator of inflammation and plays critical roles in both host defense and neuronal integrity. FTD associated with PGRN insufficiency may result from many years of reduced neutrotrophic support together with cumulative damage in association with dysregulated inflammation.
Yin
Fangfang
F
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Banerjee
Rebecca
R
Thomas
Bobby
B
Zhou
Ping
P
Qian
Liping
L
Jia
Ting
T
Ma
Xiaojing
X
Ma
Yao
Y
Iadecola
Costantino
C
Beal
M Flint
MF
Nathan
Carl
C
Ding
Aihao
A
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000077155:Granulins; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000276:immunology*; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D017628:Microglia / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000077153:Progranulins
D000077155:Granulins; C120204:Grn protein, mouse; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D000077153:Progranulins; D016753:Interleukin-10