Loss of lipoprotein receptor LRP1 ablates neural stem cell migration to ischemic lesions

Abstract

Brain damage due to stroke is a leading cause of death and long‐term disability in the US. Treatment options are limited, necessitating a better understanding of reparative and pathological processes after stroke. Ischemia stimulates the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells (NSCs) from the subventricular zone toward the ischemic lesion in mice. During this time, the migrating NSCs differentiate into GFAP positive cells and pro‐reparative glia. While the importance of this process is not fully elucidated, it is clear that limiting NSC response increases lesion size and worsens behavioral outcomes after ischemic stroke. We tested the effect of low‐density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP1) on modulating NSC response and differentiation, and found that virtually every aspect of NSC physiology we tested was altered after deletion of LRP1; increased glial differentiation, proliferation, and self‐renewal were measured. After middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice, we observed a marked reduction in the migration of neuroblasts toward the site of the lesion, which correlated with increased gliosis and worsened behavioral outcomes. Loss of LRP1 also caused reduction in expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4, which could account for the loss of migration. Ongoing studies involve elucidating the mechanism by which LRP1 regulates CXCR4 expression as well as understanding the effect on pro‐reparative processes after stroke.Support or Funding InformationThis research is supported by a pilot grant from the William and Ella Owen's Medical Research Foundation, and a Veteran's Health Administration Career Development Award K2BX003240.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.