Blaschke, Stefan J., Demir, Seda, Koenig, Anna, Abraham, Jella-Andrea, Vay, Sabine U., Rabenstein, Monika, Olschewski, Daniel N., Hoffmann, Christina, Hoffmann, Marco, Hersch, Nils, Merkel, Rudolf, Hoffmann, Bernd, Schroeter, Michael, Fink, Gereon R. and Rueger, Maria A. (2020). Substrate Elasticity Exerts Functional Effects on Primary Microglia. Front. Cell. Neurosci., 14. LAUSANNE: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. ISSN 1662-5102

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Abstract

Microglia-the brain's primary immune cells-exert a tightly regulated cascade of pro- and anti-inflammatory effects upon brain pathology, either promoting regeneration or neurodegeneration. Therefore, harnessing microglia emerges as a potential therapeutic concept in neurological research. Recent studies suggest that-besides being affected by chemokines and cytokines-various cell entities in the brain relevantly respond to the mechanical properties of their microenvironment. For example, we lately reported considerable effects of elasticity on neural stem cells, regarding quiescence and differentiation potential. However, the effects of elasticity on microglia remain to be explored.Under the hypothesis that the elasticity of the microenvironment affects key characteristics and functions of microglia, we established an in vitro model of primary rat microglia grown in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer-based cell culture system. This way, we simulated the brain's physiological elasticity range and compared it to supraphysiological stiffer PDMS controls. We assessed functional parameters of microglia under resting conditions, as well as when polarized towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype (M1) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or an anti-inflammatory phenotype (M2) by interleukin-4 (IL-4). Microglia viability was unimpaired on soft substrates, but we found various significant effects with a more than two-fold increase in microglia proliferation on soft substrate elasticities mimicking the brain (relative to PDMS controls). Furthermore, soft substrates promoted the expression of the activation marker vimentin in microglia. Moreover, the M2-marker CD206 was upregulated in parallel to an increase in the secretion of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). The upregulation of CD206 was abolished by blockage of stretch-dependent chloride channels. Our data suggest that the cultivation of microglia on substrates of brain-like elasticity promotes a basic anti-inflammatory activation state via stretch-dependent chloride channels. The results highlight the significance of the omnipresent but mostly overlooked mechanobiological effects exerted on microglia and contribute to a better understanding of the complex spatial and temporal interactions between microglia, neural stem cells, and glia, in health and disease.

Item Type: Journal Article
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCIDORCID Put Code
Blaschke, Stefan J.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Demir, SedaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Koenig, AnnaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Abraham, Jella-AndreaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Vay, Sabine U.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Rabenstein, MonikaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Olschewski, Daniel N.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hoffmann, ChristinaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hoffmann, MarcoUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hersch, NilsUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Merkel, RudolfUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hoffmann, BerndUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Schroeter, MichaelUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fink, Gereon R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Rueger, Maria A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
URN: urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-312022
DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2020.590500
Journal or Publication Title: Front. Cell. Neurosci.
Volume: 14
Date: 2020
Publisher: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
Place of Publication: LAUSANNE
ISSN: 1662-5102
Language: English
Faculty: Unspecified
Divisions: Unspecified
Subjects: no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:
KeywordsLanguage
ACTIVATED CL-CHANNELS; IN-VIVO; MICROGLIA/MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION; VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES; CYTOKINE EXPRESSION; MR ELASTOGRAPHY; BRAIN STIFFNESS; CHRONIC PHASE; INFLAMMATION; CELLSMultiple languages
NeurosciencesMultiple languages
URI: http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/31202

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