T cell infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) is a significant underlying pathogenesis in autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating diseases. Several lines of evidence suggest that glutamate dysregulation in the CNS is an important consequence of immune cell infiltration in neuroinflammatory demyelinating diseases; yet, the causal link between inflammation and glutamate dysregulation is not well understood. A major source of glutamate release during oxidative stress is the system xc− transporter, however, this mechanism has not been tested in animal models of autoimmune inflammatory demyelination. We find that pharmacological and genetic inhibition of system xc− attenuates chronic and relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Remarkably, pharmacological blockade of system xc− seven days after induction of EAE attenuated T cell infiltration into the CNS, but not T cell activation in the periphery. Mice harboring a Slc7a11 (xCT) mutation that inactivated system xc− were resistant to EAE, corroborating a central role for system xc− in mediating immune cell infiltration. We next examined the role of the system xc− transporter in the CNS after immune cell infiltration. Pharmacological inhibitors of the system xc− transporter administered during the first relapse in a SJL animal model of relapsing-remitting EAE abrogated clinical disease, inflammation, and myelin loss. Primary co-culture studies demonstrate that myelin-specific CD4+ T helper type 1 (Th1) cells provoke microglia to release glutamate via the system xc− transporter causing excitotoxic death to mature myelin-producing OLs. Taken together these studies support a novel role for the system xc− transporter in mediating T cell infiltration into the CNS as well as promoting myelin destruction after immune cell infiltration in EAE.

Glutamate dysregulation occurs in multiple sclerosis (MS), but whether excitotoxic mechanisms in mature oligodendrocytes contribute to demyelination and axonal injury is unexplored. Although current treatments modulate the immune system, long-term disability ensues, highlighting the need for neuroprotection. Glutamate is elevated before T2-visible white matter lesions appear in MS. We previously reported that myelin-reactive T cells provoke microglia to release glutamate from the system xc− transporter promoting myelin degradation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here, we explore the target for glutamate in mature oligodendrocytes. Most glutamate-stimulated calcium influx into oligodendrocyte somas is AMPA receptor (AMPAR)–mediated, and genetic deletion of AMPAR subunit GluA4 decreased intracellular calcium responses. Inducible deletion of GluA4 on mature oligodendrocytes attenuated EAE and loss of myelinated axons was selectively reduced compared to unmyelinated axons. These data link AMPAR signaling in mature oligodendrocytes to the pathophysiology of myelinated axons, demonstrating glutamate regulation as a potential neuroprotective strategy in MS.

The incidence of cognitive impairment in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients has increased, adversely impacting quality of life and imposing a significant economic burden. Brain imaging of CVD patients has detected changes in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for normal learning and memory. However, it is not clear whether adverse cardiac events or other associated co-morbidities impair cognition. Here, using a murine model of acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), where the coronary artery was occluded for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion, we tested the hypothesis that acute myocardial infarction triggers impairment in cognitive function. Two months following cardiac I/R, behavioral assessments specific for hippocampal cognitive function were performed. Mice subjected to cardiac I/R performed worse in the fear-conditioning paradigm as well as the object location memory behavioral test compared to sham-operated mice. Reactive gliosis was apparent in the hippocampal subregions CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus 72 h post-cardiac I/R as compared with sham, which was sustained two months post-cardiac I/R. Consistent with the inflammatory response, the abundance of doublecortin positive newborn neurons was decreased in the dentate gyrus 72 h and 2 months post-cardiac I/R as compared with sham. Therefore, we conclude that following acute myocardial infarction, rapid inflammatory responses negatively affect neurogenesis, which may underlie long-term changes in learning and memory.

Abbreviations: arginase 1 (Arg1), border-associated macrophages (BAMs), central nervous system (CNS), centromereprotein A (Cenpa), cluster of differentiation CD68 (CD68), colonystimulating factor receptor (CSF-1R), complement receptor (CR3), diptheria toxin receptor (iDTR), dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), embryonic day (E), fatty acid binding protein 5 (Fabp5), fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1), Fc receptor-like S scavenger receptor (Fcrls), fragment crystallizable region (Fc) receptor, galectin-1 (Lgals1), galectin-3 (Lgals3), Gprotein coupled receptors (GPCRs), G protein-coupled receptor (GRP56), glycoprotein transmembrane NMB (Gpnmb), heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1), hexosaminidase subunit beta (Hexb), ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf1), lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (Lamp1), membrane-spanning 4-domains subfamily A member 7 (Ms4a7), myeloblastosis virus (Myb), mannose receptor 1, C-type mannose receptor 1 (Mrc1), olfactomedin Like 3 (Olfml3), osteopontin (Spp1), oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), postnatal day (P), platelet factor 4 (Pf4), purinergic receptor (P2ry12), retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), ribonucleotide reductase M2 (Rrm2), tetrodotoxin (TTX), signal-regulatory protein α (SIRPα), transmembrane (Tmem119),transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor 1 (Tgfbr1), triggering receptor expressed on microglia (TREM2), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (Ube2c)

Thalamic volume is associated with clinical disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) and is vulnerable to secondary neurodegeneration due to its extensive connectivity throughout the central nervous system (CNS). Using a model of autoimmune demyelination that exhibits CNS-infiltrating immune cells in both spinal cord white matter and optic nerve, we sought to evaluate neurodegenerative changes due to lesions affecting the spino- and retino-thalamic pathways. We found comparable axonal loss in spinal cord white matter and optic nerve during the acute phase of disease consistent with synaptic loss, but not neuronal cell body loss in the thalamic nuclei that receive input from these discrete pathways. Loss of spinal cord neurons or retinal ganglion cells retrograde to their respective axons was not observed until the chronic phase of disease, where optical coherence tomography (OCT) documented reduced inner retinal thickness. In patients with relapsing–remitting MS without a history of optic neuritis, OCT measures of inner retinal volume correlated with retino-thalamic (lateral geniculate nucleus) and spino-thalamic (ventral posterior nucleus) volume as well as neuroperformance measures. These data suggest retinal imaging may serve as an important noninvasive predictor of neurodegeneration in MS.