The active role of chemokines and inflammatory cytokines in the central nervous system (CNS) during the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has been clearly established. Recent studies from our laboratory reported that Huperzine A (HupA) can attenuate the disease process in EAE by the inhibition of inflammation, demyelination, and axonal injury in the spinal cord as well as encephalomyelitic T-cell proliferation. In this study, the effects of low dose HupA on CCL2, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-1beta expression were evaluated in EAE. The effect of HupA on lipopolysachharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory molecule secretion was investigated in cultured-astrocytes in vitro. In MOG35-55-induced EAE mice, intraperitoneal injections of HupA (0.1 mg/kg•d−1) significantly suppressed the expression of CCL2, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IL-1beta in the spinal cord. HupA also repressed LPS-induced CCL2 production, but with little influence on pro-inflammatory cytokines in primary cultured astrocytes. The inhibition effect of HupA on CCL2 is PPARgamma-dependent and nicotine receptor-independent. Conditioned culture media from HupA-treated astrocyte decreased PBMC migration in vitro. Collectively, these results suggest that HupA can ameliorate EAE by inhibiting CCL2 production in astrocyte, which may consequently decrease inflammatory cell infiltration in the spinal cord. HupA may have a potential therapeutic value for the treatment of MS and other neuroinflammatory diseases.

The pMN domain is a restricted domain in the ventral spinal cords, defined by the expression of olig2 gene. The fate determination of pMN progenitors is highly temporally and spatially regulated, with motor neurons and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) developing sequentially. Insight into the heterogeneity and molecular programs of pMN progenitors is currently lacking. With the zebrafish model, we identified multiple states of neural progenitors using single-cell sequencing: proliferating progenitors, common progenitors for both motor neurons and OPCs, and restricted precursors for either motor neurons or OPCs. We found specific molecular programs for neural progenitor fate transition, and manipulations of representative genes in the motor neuron or OPC lineage confirmed their critical role in cell fate determination. The transcription factor NPAS3 is necessary for the development of the OPC lineage and can interact with many known genes associated with schizophrenia. Deciphering progenitor heterogeneity and molecular mechanisms for these transitions will elucidate the formation of complex neuron-glia networks in the central nervous system during development, and understand the basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.