Skip to main content
Log in

The expression of diacylglycerol kinase isoforms α and ζ correlates with the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Histochemistry and Cell Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, whose precise processes are not fully understood. Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) isozymes of α, β, γ and ζ expressed abundantly in the brain and/or the immune system, may be regulatory targets for MS. In this study, we analyzed the four DGK isozymes along the induction, peak and recovery phases in an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) rat model of MS. The expression of these DGK isozymes and the diacylglycerol (DAG) pathway in the EAE rat brainstems were analyzed by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence double staining, western blotting and ELISA. Our results showed that the mRNA content of the four DGK isozymes decreased significantly, and their immunoreactivity in myelin sheathes (DGKα, β) and neurons (DGKγ, ζ) became weaker at the beginning of the induction phase. With the progressive increase in clinical signs, DGKα, DGKγ and DGKζ mRNA increased and DGKβ mRNA decreased, and microglia were involved in the formation of perivascular cuffing. In the peak phase, both DGKα and DGKζ were expressed in neurons and inflammatory cells, and DGKζ was also positive in microglia. During the recovery phase, the mRNA content and immunoreactivity of these DGK isozymes generally reached normal levels. Moreover, our results revealed that changes in DAG accumulation and PKCδ phosphorylation were almost the same as those of DGKα and DGKζ mRNA. In summary, the four DGK isozymes are involved in the EAE process. The predominant and broad presence of DGKα and DGKζ suggests that they may regulate the pathological process by attenuating DAG/PKCδ pathway signaling during EAE evolution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of data and material

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

References

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81371254), Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (2008011079-2), and the Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Shanxi Medical University (01200719).

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81371254), Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (2008011079-2), Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Shanxi Medical University (01200719).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Conceptualization: YZ, HC and JM. Methodology and analysis: HC, YH, YW, JM, XC and JX. The first draft of the manuscript was written by HC, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yu Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 13 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cui, H., Huang, Y., Wu, Y. et al. The expression of diacylglycerol kinase isoforms α and ζ correlates with the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats. Histochem Cell Biol 156, 437–448 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-02011-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-02011-x

Keywords

Navigation