Cited by 246Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsMicroRNA in disease regulationTraumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 13 of the 26 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Evidence for miR‐181 involvement in neuroinflammatory responses of astrocytes

Open access

Abstract

Inflammation is a common component of acute injuries of the central nervous system (CNS) such as ischemia, and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Glial cells play important roles in local CNS inflammation, and an understanding of the roles for microRNAs in glial reactivity in injury and disease settings may therefore lead to the development of novel therapeutic interventions. Here, we show that the miR‐181 family is developmentally regulated and present in high amounts in astrocytes compared to neurons. Overexpression of miR‐181c in cultured astrocytes results in increased cell death when exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We show that miR‐181 expression is altered by exposure to LPS, a model of inflammation, in both wild‐type and transgenic mice lacking both receptors for the inflammatory cytokine TNF‐α. Knockdown of miR‐181 enhanced LPS‐induced production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐1β, IL‐8) and HMGB1, while overexpression of miR‐181 resulted in a significant increase in the expression of the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10. To assess the effects of miR‐181 on the astrocyte transcriptome, we performed gene array and pathway analysis on astrocytes with reduced levels of miR‐181b/c. To examine the pool of potential miR‐181 targets, we employed a biotin pull‐down of miR‐181c and gene array analysis. We validated the mRNAs encoding MeCP2 and X‐linked inhibitor of apoptosis as targets of miR‐181. These findings suggest that miR‐181 plays important roles in the molecular responses of astrocytes in inflammatory settings. Further understanding of the role of miR‐181 in inflammatory events and CNS injury could lead to novel approaches for the treatment of CNS disorders with an inflammatory component.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This study reports that miR-181 family members are developmentally regulated, enriched in astrocytes, and altered by LPS-induced neuroinflammation. Reducing miR-181 promotes pro-inflammatory cytokine production, while over-expressing miR-181c increases IL-10 and cell death, and MeCP2 and XIAP are validated as direct miR-181 targets.

Key findings

  • miR-181b, miR-181c, and miR-181d were higher in adult cortex than embryonic telencephalon and enriched in cultured astrocytes relative to BDNF-differentiated neurons. In vivo, LPS decreased miR-181b/c/d in wild-type mouse cortex at 4 h; in TNFR1/TNFR2 double knockout mice, LPS did not significantly reduce miR-181b/c, but miR-181d decreased (p<0.04).
  • Over-expression of miR-181c increased astrocyte cell death by LDH release regardless of LPS concentration, and caused a small but significant increase in proliferation by MTS. Knockdown of miR-181b/c enhanced LPS-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, and HMGB1; over-expression of miR-181c enhanced LPS-induced IL-10.
  • MeCP2 and XIAP mRNAs were validated as direct miR-181 targets by reporter assays: MeCP2 reporter showed a 72% reduction in light units, and XIAP reporter showed roughly a 63% decrease in relative light units. SIRT1 reporter showed no repression by miR-181c, and HMGA1 was identified as a non-canonical potential target.

Methods

  • Primary mouse cortical astrocyte cultures were transfected with miR-181c over-expression, miR-181b/c hairpin inhibitors, or control C. elegans miR-67 at 20 nM, then treated with LPS; cell death was measured by LDH, proliferation by MTS, and cytokines by Bio-Plex multiplex assays.
  • In vivo, adult male wild-type C57BL/6J and TNFR1/TNFR2 double knockout mice received a single intraperitoneal LPS injection at 250 μg/kg and were euthanized 4 h later for cortex miRNA analysis.
  • Transcriptome and target analyses used Illumina BeadChips after miR-181b/c knockdown and biotinylated miR-181c pull-down, with RT-qPCR validation and luciferase reporter assays for MeCP2, SIRT1, and XIAP.

Limitations

  • The paper does not state a limitations section. Evident limitations include reliance on mouse primary astrocyte cultures and mouse in vivo models, with no human tissue or clinical data reported.
  • Some findings are trends or context-dependent: FGF2 was only a trend in control astrocytes, SIRT1 was not repressed by miR-181c, and HMGA1 was not predicted by Targetscan and is described as a non-canonical potential target.
  • Multiplex assays for IL-5, IL-4, IL-13, IFN-γ, IL-12p70, IL-7, IL-2, and SAA were below the detection threshold, limiting cytokine conclusions to the measured factors.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/glia.22483

Cites

67 of 67 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

13 of 26 cited sources checked · 6 supported · 1 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 54 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 12
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 13
22 of 22
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The C. elegans miR-67 mimic used as a control has no known mammalian targets.

    “For all miRNA experiments a C. elegans miR-67 mimic (Dharmacon), a miRNA with no known mammalian targets, was used.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The miR-181b/c hairpin inhibitors specifically knock down miR-181b and miR-181c without off-target effects.

    “or to knock down (KD) miR-181 using miR-181c and miR-181b microRNA hairpin inhibitors (Dharmacon).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cultured primary astrocytes are representative of astrocytes in vivo for inferring miR-181 function in neuroinflammation.

    “For mouse primary astrocyte cultures, the cerebral cortex was removed from the brains of newborn mice and placed in cold Hank’s balanced saline solution (HBSS).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Transfection with miR-181c specifically over-expresses miR-181c without off-target effects.

    “Lipofectamine LTX (Invitrogen) was used to transfect cells to over-express (OE) either miR-181c or a control miRNA (the C. Elegans miR-67; CTRL), or to knock down (KD) miR-181 using miR-181c and miR-181b microRNA hairpin inhibitors (Dharmacon).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The observed changes in miR-181 expression in cortex after LPS occur in astrocytes.

    “We show that miR-181 expression is altered in brain cells in vivo in response to LPS, a model of inflammation, in both wild-type mice and transgenic mice lacking both receptors for the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α.”
5 of 5

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Metadata

Authors
Hutchison, E. R., Kawamoto, E. M., Taub, D. D., Lal, A., Abdelmohsen, K., Zhang, Y., Wood, W. H., Lehrmann, E., Camandola, S., Becker, K. G., Gorospe, M., & Mattson, M. P.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Mattson, Mark P.
Venue
Glia
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2013-05-07
Volume
61
Issue
7
Pages
1018-1028
ISSN
  • 0894-1491 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-1136
OpenAlex
W2159268524
Cited by
246
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 10
FWCI
12.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Glia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (ZIAAG000314, ZIAAG000312)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Clinical Neurology › Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
Keywords
miR-181, microRNA, astrocytes, neuroinflammation, lipopolysaccharide, inflammatory cytokines, HMGB1, IL-10, MeCP2, XIAP, miRNA target genes, central nervous system injury, astrocyte transcriptome
MeSH terms
Animals, Astrocytes, Cells, Cultured, Cerebral Cortex, L-Lactate Dehydrogenase, Lipopolysaccharides, Male, Neurons, Transfection, Neuroimmunomodulation, Cytokines, Mice, Knockout, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Biotinylation, MicroRNAs, Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I, Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II, Mice, X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein, Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2

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