Abstract
In mammals, myeloid progenitors infiltrate the developing central nervous system (CNS), through the immature blood-brain barrier (BBB), the ventricular layer or the pial surface migrate and give rise to resident microglia. In the mature brain, however, the BBB hampers such recruitment from the blood-stream and long-term establishment of blood borne myeloid cells in the CNS thus appears at best limited. Hematopoietic stem cell-derived microglia, nevertheless, represents a promising tool for the correction of genetic deficits in the brain. We thus investigated the fate of primary human monocytes, and monocyte-derived macrophages, following transplantation into the adult mouse brain overpassing the BBB. Furthermore, we documented the ability of such cells to deliver a lysosomal enzyme into the brain following genetic modification with a recombinant adenoviral vector carrying the human β-glucuronidase cDNA. When implanted into the mouse striatum, the engineered primary cells survived and expressed the transgene for as much as 8 months. Moreover, the donor cells could migrate out of the grafting site and settle along blood vessels or myelin tracts although at limited distance. Migrating donor cells down-regulated the expression of CD14 andHLA DR, suggesting the adoption of a deactivated microglia-like phenotype. Our observations establish the ability of circulating mononuclear phagocytes to integrate into the brain after transplantation and express a transgene on the long term. These cells might thus be employed for autologous transplantation for the delivery of secreted therapeutic proteins in the context of a wide range of brain affections.
Highlights
Monocytes (Mo) belong to the hematopoietic myeloid lineage and circulate in the blood with a half-life of about 48 hours
The central nervous system (CNS) displays unique features such as an immune privilege environment and a particular blood-brain barrier (BBB), which may explain the specificities of brain MØ populations, i.e. perivascular brain MØ and resident microglia
We tested the susceptibility of Mo and MØ to gene transduction by a 2nd generation adenovirus vector carrying the human β-glucuronidase cDNA (Ad/CMV*βglu)
Summary
Monocytes (Mo) belong to the hematopoietic myeloid lineage and circulate in the blood with a half-life of about 48 hours They become tissue macrophages (MØ) as they leave the bloodstream and enter tissues [1], where they become resident for periods ranging from hours to years [2]. The CNS displays unique features such as an immune privilege environment and a particular BBB, which may explain the specificities of brain MØ populations, i.e. perivascular brain MØ and resident microglia. As these cells share many markers with Mo/MØ they are considered as the resident MØ of OPEN ACCESS
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