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Biomedical subjects

G Stoll

Publications and source records attributed to G Stoll.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Time course and cellular localization of interleukin-10 mRNA and protein expression in autoimmune inflammation of the rat central nervous system.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis of the Lewis rat is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by a self-limiting monophasic course. In this study, we analyzed the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 at the mRNA and protein level in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis actively induced with the encephalitogenic 68-86 peptide of guinea pig myelin basic protein. Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction revealed that IL-10 mRNA expression peaked during the acute phase of the disease at days 11 and 13. IL-10 mRNA was synchronously induced with mRNA for the proinflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma. Immunocytochemistry with a monoclonal antibody against rat IL-10 showed that the peak of IL-10 mRNA was accompanied by an abundant expression of IL-10 protein during the acute stage of the disease. Both in situ hybridization and double labeling immunocytochemistry in combination with confocal microscopy identified T cells, macrophages/microglia, and astrocytes as major cellular sources of IL-10 in vivo. The early peak of IL-10 production was unexpected in light of its well-documented anti-inflammatory properties. Additional studies are required to determine whether endogenous IL-10 contributes to rapid clinical remission typical for Lewis rat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis or if it plays other, yet undefined, roles in central nervous system autoimmunity.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Congenital axonal neuropathy caused by deletions in the spinal muscular atrophy region.

Three newborn siblings presented with generalized weakness, asphyxia, facial diplegia, and external ophthalmoplegia. Electrophysiological testing showed inexcitability of motor and sensory nerves and myographic signs of denervation. Nerve biopsies and postmortem examination showed loss of myelinated fibers and axonal damage in sensory and mixed nerves. Many spinal motor neurons were chromatolytic although their number was normal. Molecular genetic investigations revealed a homozygous deletion of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene and a loss of markers Ag1-CA and C212 in the paternal haplotype. These findings are consistent with the diagnosis of an unusually severe type of spinal muscular atrophy. Given the large extent of the deletion, it must be considered that the unusual severe phenotype with involvement of brainstem nuclei and afferent nerves might also be due to changes of yet unknown genes neighboring the SMN gene.

Axons↗
PubMed1997

p75 neurotrophin receptor induction and macrophage infiltration in peripheral nerve during experimental diabetic neuropathy: possible relevance on regeneration.

In this study we examined the expression of the neurotrophin receptor p75 (p75NTR) and the activation of macrophages in the sciatic nerve of rats at different time points after the induction of diabetes with streptozotocin (STZ). Northern blot and immunocytochemical analysis showed that p75NTR was not detectable in the sciatic nerve by Week 2 after STZ treatment. At this time, single nerve fiber immunostaining using ED1 monoclonal antibody revealed that active macrophages were infiltrating the endoneurium, which had a normal morphological aspect. By Weeks 5 and 15 p75NTR mRNA and protein were induced in the endoneurium of diabetic animals. Immunocytochemical analysis of teased single nerve fibers showed that p75NTR protein was distributed uniformly along isolated fibers with no pathological evidence of axonal degeneration or myelin disruption. At this time, cells of the phagocyte lineage had already disappeared from the nerve. These data show that during experimental diabetic neuropathy, the endoneurial induction of p75NTR is localized along isolated nerve fibers showing no morphological alterations, and in time, follows the recruitment of active macrophages in the nerve, suggesting that these cells, directly or through their products, can influence p75NTR induction. This process might play an important role in STZ diabetic neuropathy, as a response to decreased levels of neurotrophins such as NGF and promoting nerve regeneration in the early phases of the disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Schwann cell differentiation in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A): normal number of myelinating Schwann cells in young CMT1A patients and neural cell adhesion molecule expression in onion bulbs.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) is a common hereditary demyelinating neuropathy caused by a duplication of the gene for the myelin protein PMP22, resulting in overexpression of PMP22 in young patients. Although genetically well defined, the pathogenesis of the hereditary demyelinating neuropathy CMT1A is still unclear. Homology of PMP22 cDNA to the growth arrest-specific gene gas3 and experiments in vitro showing decreased proliferation in PMP22-overexpressing Schwann cells suggest a role of PMP22 in Schwann cell differentiation. Furthermore, overexpression of PMP22 in fibroblasts induces programmed cell death. In this report we applied morphometrical methods using electron micrographs and immunohistochemistry to further characterise Schwann cells in CMT1A nerve biopsy samples from CMT1A patients. We show that the total number of PMP22-expressing Schwann cells, i.e. Schwann cells that are in a 1:1 relationship with axons, was not reduced in sural nerve biopsy samples from six young CMT1A patients. We excluded non-specific secondary Schwann cell proliferation. Thus, in young CMT1A patients with increased PMP22 overexpression there seems to be no evidence for altered initial Schwann cell proliferation in achieving a 1:1 relationship to axons prior to the process of de- and remyelination. Further, using electron microscopy we found no evidence for apoptosis of Schwann cells in CMT1A. However, we provide additional support for an abnormal Schwann cell phenotype in CMT1A by showing the expression of neural cell adhesion molecule immunoreactivity in onion bulbs. Thus, the role of PMP22 in cell growth and differentiation does not lead to an altered number of myelinating Schwann cells but to altered Schwann cell differentiation in CMT1A.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1997

Phagocytic response in photochemically induced infarction of rat cerebral cortex. The role of resident microglia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In this study we assessed the relative extent to which resident microglia and blood-borne macrophages contribute to the population of phagocytes after focal infarction of the rat cortex. METHODS: Focal cerebral infarction was induced in rats by photothrombosis after hematogenous macrophages were depleted by means of liposomes containing dichloromethylene diphosphonate. The phagocytic activation of microglia and macrophages was monitored by immunocytochemistry with the antibody ED1. RESULTS: In both macrophage-depleted rats and controls, ED1+ phagocytes bordered the infarct to the same extent at day 3 after photothrombosis. By contrast, at day 6 after photothrombosis ED1+ phagocytes in control rats greatly outnumbered those in macrophage-depleted rats. With the use of the antibody Ox42 directed against the CR3 receptor on the surface of microglia, it was possible to selectively document the transition of resident microglia into stellate and ameboid phagocytic microglia during the first 6 days after photothrombosis in the absence of bloodborne macrophages. CONCLUSIONS: The initial phagocytic response after focal brain ischemia is an intrinsic property of the nervous system mainly performed by resident microglia. The majority of hematogenous macrophages are recruited secondarily to participate in the removal of necrotic tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Delayed and remote effects of focal cortical infarctions: secondary damage and reactive plasticity.

Following cortical ischemia, several processes have been identified that occur in remote brain areas: (i) At the lesion border, in partially ischemic areas, inflammatory reactions with invasion of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and T lymphocytes, an immediate activation of microglia, and a delayed invasion of macrophages occur, and neurons in close contact to inflammatory cells show apoptotic cell death. These factors may affect the extent of the ensuing lesion. Leukocytes adhering to the endothelium after expression of cell adhesion molecules have a detrimental effect on reperfusion. (ii) In nonischemic brain areas remote from the lesion, alterations can be caused by electrical or chemical signals emanating from the infarct. Thus activation of astrocytes by spreading depressions probably initiate a partial resistance for further ischemia. (iii) In nonischemic, structurally connected brain areas, diaschisis effects are observed. Both ipsilateral to the lesion as well as contralateral to it an increase of neuronal excitability and a decrease of GABAergic inhibition are observed. This is associated with a down-regulation of GABA receptor binding, and an altered composition of GABA receptors by different subunits. These alterations may favor functional adaptive processes, but may also cause postischemic seizures and neuronal dysfunction. (iv) Adaptive changes in remote brain areas can be influenced by ischemia-induced remote alterations of brain functions. Furthermore, experimentally observed differential activation of NMDA responses may contribute to a differential propensity for adaptive processes in different brain areas. The investigations indicate potential new targets for therapeutic interventions after the first few hours following onset of stroke.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Differential expression of interleukin-10 mRNA in Wallerian degeneration and immune-mediated inflammation of the rat peripheral nervous system.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a potent immunosuppressant cytokine which downregulates MHC class II antigen expression and inflammatory cytokine production. In this study we localized mRNA for IL-10 in the rat peripheral nervous system (PNS) by nonradioactive in situ hybridization using a digoxygenin-labeled riboprobe specific for rat IL-10. IL-10 mRNA was expressed by some Schwann cells (SCs) in the normal sciatic nerve. During Wallerian degeneration, SCs strongly expressed IL-10 mRNA between days 2 and 4 after transection. By day 14 only occasional cells were positive for IL-10 mRNA. The vast majority of ED1-positive macrophages were IL-10 negative after axotomy. Contrastingly, infiltrating macrophages expressed IL-10 mRNA conincident with beginning clinical recovery in experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), the rat model of human Guillain-Barré syndrome. Our data suggest that SCs provide a constitutive immunosuppressant system in the PNS. In EAN additional macrophage-derived IL-10 may be important for the resolution of the T cell-mediated immune response.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Strain-specific expression of microglial keratan sulfate proteoglycans in the normal rat central nervous system: inverse correlation with constitutive expression of major histocompatibility complex class II antigens.

We have recently demonstrated that a novel type of keratan sulfate proteoglycan (KSPG) identified by the monoclonal antibody (mAb) 5D4 is expressed on ramified microglia but downregulated coincident with T-cell-mediated autoimmune inflammation of the spinal cord in Lewis (LEW) rats. In this study we show by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis that various inbred rat strains differ significantly in their constitutive expression of KSPG on ramified microglia in the normal CNS. Microglial KSPG was high in LEW and Fischer 344 rats but low in DA, Brown Norway (BN), and PVG rats. The KSPG low-expressing strains exhibited constitutive expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens on ramified microglia that was not detectable in the KSPG high-expressing strains. Thus, an inverse correlation between constitutive KSPG and MHC class II expression was present. The KSPG-low-/MHC class II-positive phenotype is associated with resistance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in BN and PVG, but not DA rats. These findings suggest a significant impact of genetic factors on the molecular differentiation of resident macrophages in the CNS.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Spatiotemporal relationship of apoptotic cell death to lymphomonocytic infiltration in photochemically induced focal ischemia of the rat cerebral cortex.

In this study we examined the time course of apoptotic cell death after photochemically induced focal ischemia of the rat cerebral cortex. For unequivocal differentiation between apoptosis and necrosis two criteria of programmed cell death were used: terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end labeling (TUNEL) and morphological evidence of fragmentation and marginalization of nuclei. After photothrombosis, many TUNEL-positive cells were found within the infarct region from 12 h to 3 days. By day 6 they were preferentially located in the boundary zone of the infarct, and by day 14 they had disappeared. A high proportion of TUNEL-positive cells displayed fragmentation or marginalization of their nuclei, indicating apoptosis. Neurons, but not T cells and macrophages, were apoptotic. Inflammatory infiltrates were in close contact to apoptotic neurons throughout the infarct areas at day 1 and in the boundary zone between days 2 and 6 after photothrombosis. In summary, our study shows that neuronal apoptosis after cerebral ischemia is a prolonged process to which leukocyte-derived cytokines may contribute. In contrast to autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, termination of the local inflammatory response after cerebral ischemia does not involve apoptosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mRNA is expressed in immune-mediated and ischemic injury of the rat nervous system.

In this study we used nonradioactive in situ hybridization for the cellular localization of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) mRNA in immune-mediated, ischemic and degenerative diseases of the rat nervous system. In the acute phase of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and neuritis VCAM-1 mRNA was expressed not only on the luminal surface of inflamed vessels but also in perivascular cells suggesting a functional role of VCAM-1 in both endothelial adhesion and local restimulation of autoantigen-specific T cells. Accordingly, perivascular T cell accumulation was most pronounced at sites of local VCAM-1 mRNA expression. In addition, VCAM-1 mRNA was detected in the border zone around photochemically induced cerebral infarcts which is the predeliction site of T cell infiltration and expression of immune activation markers during the first week after ischemia. VCAM-1 mRNA was absent from the center of the infarcts as well as axotomized central and peripheral nerves undergoing Wallerian degeneration. These data indicate that VCAM-1-mediated adhesion processes are involved in immune-mediated and ischemic diseases of the nervous system but not in T cell-independent macrophage recruitment during Wallerian degeneration.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1996

Low affinity NGF receptor expression in CMT1A nerve biopsies of different disease stages.

Duplication of the gene for the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) is the most common cause for Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1a (CMT1A) neuropathy. In early stages of the disease PMP22 is overexpressed in nerve biopsies from CMT1A patients. Recent studies with genetically modified Schwann cells have demonstrated that the altered expression of PMP22 modulates cell growth. Thus we hypothesized that elevated expression of PMP22 at the beginning of the disease might alter Schwann cell differentiation and phenotype. In this study we investigated Schwann cell phenotype in different stages of CMT1A neuropathy using antibodies to established Schwann cell markers. We found a pathological expression of low affinity nerve growth factor receptor (LNGF-R-also referred to in the literature as p75) in numerous Schwann cells of young CMT1A patients with almost normal myelin thickness and very few onion bulbs. During further progression of the disease, when Schwann cells began to form onion bulbs, we observed an intense LNGF-R immunoreactivity in all layers of the onion bulbs. In the most advanced stages of the disease, characterized by massive onion bulb formation, no LNGF-R immunoreactivity was shown. In age-matched control nerves LNGF-R staining was barely detectable. Furthermore, onion bulbs seen in patients with chronic idiopathic polyneuropathy (CIDP) were always negative for LNGF-R. In addition, at all CMT1A disease stages analysed, LNGF-R-positive Schwann cells were glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) negative. Immunostaining with an antibody to the proliferation marker, proliferating cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA) indicated Schwann cell proliferation when onion bulb formation was well developed. In conclusion, we describe a disease stage-dependent altered Schwann cell phenotype in CMT1A neuropathy, which could be a direct consequence of the PMP22 overexpression on Schwann cell growth behaviour or, less likely, a secondary phenomenon related to myelin loss.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Downregulation of microglial keratan sulfate proteoglycans coincident with lymphomonocytic infiltration of the rat central nervous system.

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) 5D4 against a keratan sulfate (KS) epitope of bovine cartilage proteoglycan stains ramified microglia in the rat brain. In this study we show that 5D4-positive microglia is abundant in the normal rat spinal cord and nearly absent during both the active and recovery phase of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in myelin-immunized Lewis rats. In contrast, during Wallerian degeneration of the optic nerve the density of KS-immunoreactive microglia remains constant. KS immunoreactivity is absent from both normal and transected sciatic nerves, and spinal nerve roots. On immunoblots of spinal cord extracts MAb 5D4 stains a novel type of KS proteoglycans (KSPGs) with an apparent molecular weight mainly between 140 and 200 kd, which significantly decrease in acute EAE. Our data suggest that high levels of KSPG expression correlate to a downregulated immunophenotype of resident macrophages in the nervous system. The lack of detectable KS in peripheral nerve points to a divergent differentiation of bone marrow-derived resident macrophages in the peripheral and central nervous systems and may partially account for the rapid macrophage response to axonal injury in the peripheral nervous system. Downregulation of microglial KSPG could be a prerequisite for a rapid inflammatory response in the central nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Immunocytochemistry as a diagnostic tool.

ICC is a powerful technique to gain information about pathological processes in peripheral nerve beyond the limits of classical histopathology. ICC can aid in the identification of cellular infiltrates (T cells, B cells and macrophages), in the definition of their state of activation (MHC class I and II molecule expression), in the localization of cellular adhesion molecules (vascular and intercellular adhesion molecule 1) involved in trafficking of inflammatory cells through the endothelium and, finally, in the identification of locally produced cytokines (interferon gamma, interleukins and tumour necrosis factor). Moreover, ICC can identify pathological deposits, such as immunoglobulins and amyloid, within nerves and can be used to study the expression of myelin sheath proteins as they change in disease. In this chapter, basic immunocytochemical findings in experimental diseases of the peripheral nervous system, such as WD and immune-mediated demyelination, are summarized and discussed in the context of similar observations in sural nerve biopsies.

Cytokines↗
PubMed1995

Astroglial responses in photochemically induced focal ischemia of the rat cortex.

This study investigated astroglial responses after focal cerebral ischemia in the rat cortex induced by photothrombosis. Astrocyte activation was studied at various time points by immunocytochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin (VIM). We found a dual astrocytic response to focal ischemia: In the border zone of the infarct, GFAP-positive astrocytes were present within 2 days and persisted for 10 weeks. These astrocytes additionally expressed VIM. Remote from the ischemic lesion, cortical astrocytes of the entire ipsilateral hemisphere transiently expressed GFAP, but not VIM, beginning on day 3 after photothrombosis. This response had disappeared on day 14. By recording DC potentials, five to seven spreading depressions (SD) could be detected on the cortical surface during the first 2 h after photothrombosis. Treatment with MK801, a non-competitive NMDA-receptor antagonist, completely abolished SD and remote ipsilateral astrocytic activation, while the reaction in the border zone of the infarct remained unchanged. Functionally, persistent astrocytosis around the infarct might be induced by leukocyte-derived cytokines, while NMDA-receptor-mediated SD might cause remote responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Lymphocytic infiltration and expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in photochemically induced ischemia of the rat cortex.

The contribution of the immune system to the pathogenesis of ischemic lesions is still uncertain. We have analyzed leukocyte infiltration in photochemically induced focal ischemia of the rat parietal cortex by immunocytochemistry. Between 1 and 2 days after photothrombosis, CD5+ T cells adhered to subpial and cortical vessels and infiltrated the ischemic lesion prior to macrophages. By day 3 numerous T cells and some macrophages, whose number increased further between day 3 and day 7, had infiltrated the border zone around the lesion sparing the center. In addition, CD5-/CD8+ lymphocytes that probably represent natural killer cells were found. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) was expressed on endothelial cells on days 1 and 2 and in the border zone on infiltrating leukocytes from day 3 to day 7. Starting on day 7, macrophages infiltrated the core of the lesion to remove debris. When the entire lesion was covered by macrophages at day 14, the number of T cells had decreased and ICAM-1 immunoreactivity was no longer found in or around the infarct. In conclusion, our study shows that ischemic lesions can lead to a local immune reaction in the CNS. Thus, blocking of lymphocyte-derived cytokines or cell adhesion molecules may provide a new approach to confining the sequelae of stroke.

Animals↗