Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health concern in the United States and worldwide and effective treatment options are limited. Differences in the magnitude and characteristics of the peripheral-derived immune cell response to TBI are key contributors to the secondary cascades of damage following brain trauma, and means of modifying this response to improve clinical outcome are a current area of active research. Our work elucidated the peripheral immune response to TBI by characterizing the transcriptomic profile of juvenile vs adult peripheral immune cells following TBI as well as discovering a novel role for the tyrosine kinase receptor EphA4 in the peripheral-derived immune response to brain trauma. Previous work has demonstrated significant differences in recovery from TBI in young vs adult animals, and some studies have indicated that the immune response contributes to these differences. We utilized next-generation sequencing to compare gene expression profiles of blood cell fraction samples in juvenile and adult mice. Our work demonstrated that juvenile peripheral immune cells show a more dynamic response to TBI than adult and that pattern recognition receptor signaling is a cornerstone of these differences. To assess the specific mechanisms involved in the peripheral response to TBI, we utilized a bone marrow chimeric mouse model lacking EphA4 in the hematopoietic compartment. These studies found decreased lesion infiltration of peripheral immune cells, specifically activated macrophages, in the absence of EphA4. We also showed that EphA4 interacts with the Tie2/Angiopoietin signaling axis to regulate macrophage phenotype on the M1/2 continuum. Overall, our work demonstrated a novel role for EphA4, mediated by Tie2, as a pro-inflammatory regulator of the peripheral-derived immune cell response to TBI. / Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health concern in the United States and worldwide and effective treatment options are limited. While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) excludes immune cells in the blood from entering the healthy brain, brain trauma compromises BBB integrity and allows massive infiltration of peripheral neutrophils, macrophages, and other immune cells. This circulating immune cell response to TBI contributes to damage following brain trauma, and means of modifying this response to improve recovery are a current area of active research. Our work explored the circulating immune cell response to TBI by comparing the gene expression profile of young vs adult circulating immune cells following TBI as well as discovering a novel role for the EphA4 protein in the circulating immune cell response to brain trauma. Previous work has found significant differences in recovery from TBI in young vs adult animals and that the immune response contributes to these differences. To explore this, we compared gene expression profiles of blood immune cells in young and adult mice and found that young immune cells show a more dynamic response to TBI than adult. To assess the specific pathways involved in the circulating immune cell response, we used a mouse model lacking EphA4 in these cells. Our studies found decreased numbers of immune cells, specifically macrophages, entering the injury area in the absence of EphA4. We also showed that EphA4 interacts with the Tie2 protein and its Angiopoietin protein binding partners. Originally studied as an important contributor to blood vessel function, Tie2 has recently been found to play a role in the function of macrophages. Our work demonstrated that EphA4 interacts with Tie2 to regulate pro-recovery vs proinflammatory characteristics in macrophages. Overall, our work demonstrated a novel role for EphA4, mediated by Tie2, as a pro-inflammatory regulator of the circulating immune cell response to TBI.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102505 |
| Date | 06 September 2019 |
| Creators | Hazy, Amanda Dawn |
| Contributors | Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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