Astrocytes are believed to bridge interactions between infiltrating lymphocytes and neurons during brain ischemia, but the mechanisms for this action are poorly understood. Here we found that interleukin-15 (IL-15) is dramatically up-regulated in astrocytes of postmortem brain tissues from patients with ischemic stroke and in a mouse model of transient focal brain ischemia. We generated a glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)
Infiltrating leukocytes such as lymphocytes are major effectors of postischemic brain inflammation (1-6). The phenotype and function of infiltrating lymphocytes are largely dictated by organspecific intrinsic factors during inflammatory responses (7-9), and such factors in the brain are unique in terms of cellular constituents, blood-brain barrier (10-12), and microenvironment (1-3, 7). As the most abundant cell type in the CNS, astrocytes constitute nearly 50% of the human brain's volume. Astrocytes contribute to the regulation of neural transmission, survival of neurons and other glia cells, and integrity of the blood-brain barrier. In the inflamed CNS, astrocytes engage in significant cross-talk with CNS-infiltrating immune cells by providing a major source of the proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, thereby activating infiltrating lymphocytes. Evidence has shown that astrocytes can exert potent proinflammatory functions by producing factors including monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), etc., as their primary mode of action after CNS injury. In addition, astrocytes are considered as important nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells. Depending on the stage of brain pathology, astrocytes also possess antiinflammatory properties such as scar formation and restriction of inflammation by producing transforming growth factor-β (13,14). Recent studies have shown that the inhibition of astrocytes correlates with decreased infarct size (15,16) and that treatments capable of decreasing infarct size are often accompanied by attenuated astrocyte responses. These findings suggest a detrimental role for astrocytes after brain ischemia (15-18). However, still unknown are whether and how astrocytes shape acute CNS immune responses in the context of a postischemic brain and whether this process has any clinical significance.IL-15 belongs to a family of cytokines using the common γ-chain as a component of their receptors (19,20). IL-15 interacts specifically with the high-affinity IL-15 receptor α (IL-15Rα) and binds to IL-2/IL-15Rβ and a common γ-chain expressed by target cells (21-23). In the periphery, monocytes and dendritic cells are the main sources of 25). IL-15 maintains homeostasis and cytotoxic activities of lymphocytes that bear its receptor [i.e., natural killer (NK) and CD8 + T cells] (19,20). Some studies have demonstrated that IL-15 contributes to the immunopathology of several inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (26,27). Despite recent studies suggesting astrocytes as a major...
