Macrophages play a leading role in determining the direction of astrocytic migration in spinal cord injury via ADP-P2Y1R axis

Gentaro Ono, Kazu Kobayakawa, Hirokazu Saiwai, Tetsuya Tamaru, Hirotaka Iura, Yohei Haruta, Kazuki Kitade, Keiichiro Iida, Kenichi Kawaguchi, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Makoto Tsuda, Tomohiko Tamura, Keiko Ozato, Kazuhide Inoue, Daijiro Konno, Takeshi Maeda, Seiji Okada, Yasuharu Nakashima

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

After spinal cord injury (SCI), inflammatory cells such as macrophages infiltrate the injured area, and astrocytes migrate, forming a glial scar around macrophages. The glial scar inhibits axonal regeneration, resulting in significant permanent disability. However, the mechanism through which glial scar-forming astrocytes migrate to the injury site has not been clarified. Here we show that migrating macrophages attract reactive astrocytes toward the center of the lesion after SCI. Chimeric mice with bone marrow lacking IRF8, which controls macrophage centripetal migration after SCI, showed widely scattered macrophages in the injured spinal cord with the formation of a huge glial scar around the macrophages. To determine whether astrocytes or macrophages play a leading role in determining the directions of migration, we generated chimeric mice with reactive astrocyte-specific Socs3 −/− mice, which showed enhanced astrocyte migration, and bone marrow from IRF8 −/− mice. In this mouse model, macrophages were widely scattered, and a huge glial scar was formed around the macrophages as in wild-type mice that were transplanted with IRF8 −/− bone marrow. In addition, we revealed that macrophage-secreted ATP-derived ADP attracts astrocytes via the P2Y1 receptor. Our findings revealed a mechanism through which migrating macrophages attract astrocytes and affect the pathophysiology and outcome after SCI.

Original languageEnglish
Article number11177
JournalScientific reports
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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