Cited by 102Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsParkinson's Disease Mechanisms and TreatmentsMultiple Sclerosis Research Studies

T cell infiltration in both human multiple system atrophy and a novel mouse model of the disease

Open access
Williams, Gregory P., Marmion, David J., Schonhoff, Aubrey M., Jurkuvenaite, Asta, Won, Woong-Jai, Standaert, David G., Kordower, Jeffrey H., Harms, Ashley S.·2020·Acta Neuropathologica

Abstract

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) in oligodendrocytes accompanied by inflammation, demyelination, and subsequent synapse and neuronal loss. Little is known about the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in MSA. However, recent work has highlighted the important role of the immune system to the pathophysiology of other synuclein-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. In this study, we investigated postmortem brain tissue from MSA patients and control subjects for evidence of immune activation in the brain. We found a significant increase of HLA-DR+ microglia in the putamen and substantia nigra of MSA patient tissue compared to controls, as well as significant increases in CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells in these same brain regions. To model MSA in vivo, we utilized a viral vector that selectively overexpresses α-syn in oligodendrocytes (Olig001-SYN) with > 95% tropism in the dorsal striatum of mice, resulting in demyelination and neuroinflammation similar to that observed in human MSA. Oligodendrocyte transduction with this vector resulted in a robust inflammatory response, which included increased MHCII expression on central nervous system (CNS) resident microglia, and infiltration of pro-inflammatory monocytes into the CNS. We also observed robust infiltration of CD4 T cells into the CNS and antigen-experienced CD4 T cells in the draining cervical lymph nodes. Importantly, genetic deletion of TCR-β or CD4 T cells attenuated α-syn-induced inflammation and demyelination in vivo. These results suggest that T cell priming and infiltration into the CNS are key mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in MSA, and therapeutics targeting T cells may be disease modifying.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s00401-020-02126-w

Cites

64 of 64 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • T cell infiltration into the CNS and their interaction with microglia are key mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in MSA.

    “These results suggest that T cell infiltration into the CNS and their interaction with microglia are key mechanisms of disease pathogenesis in MSA.301”
  • T cell infiltration alongside inflammatory microgliosis was observed both in postmortem brain tissues of MSA patients and in a virus-mediated mouse model of MSA.

    “T cell infiltration alongside the inflammatory microgliosis was observed both in postmortem brain tissues of MSA patients and in a virus-mediated mouse model of MSA.301”
  • MSA mice with Tcrb (CD4 and CD8 T cell knockout) or Cd4 (CD4 T cell knockout) genetic deletion showed reduced inflammation and demyelination after exposure to syn.

    “Moreover, MSA mice with Tcrb (CD4 and CD8 T cell knockout) or Cd4 (CD4 T cell knockout) genetic deletion showed reduced inflammation and demyelination after exposure to syn301”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [33]La Holton JL Revesez T Dickson DWWR Multiple system atrophy in neurodegeneration The molecular pathology of dementia and movement disorders 2013 2nd Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 242 252

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Williams, G. P., Marmion, D. J., Schonhoff, A. M., Jurkuvenaite, A., Won, W.-J., Standaert, D. G., Kordower, J. H., & Harms, A. S.
Affiliations
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
  • Rush University Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Harms, Ashley S.
Venue
Acta Neuropathologica
Published
2020-01-29
Volume
139
Issue
5
Pages
855-874
ISSN
  • 0001-6322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-0533
OpenAlex
W3004302491
Cited by
102
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 16
FWCI
6.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Acta Neuropathologica (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS107316)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies
Keywords
multiple system atrophy, alpha-synuclein, T cell infiltration, neuroinflammation, demyelination, microglial activation, HLA-DR, oligodendrocytes, CD4+ T cells, mouse model, synucleinopathies, disease-modifying therapy
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neurons, Oligodendroglia, Parkinson Disease, T-Lymphocytes, Microglia, Multiple System Atrophy

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review