Abstract
Peripheral viral infections increase seizure propensity and intensity in susceptible individuals. We have modeled this comorbidity by demonstrating that intraperitoneal (ip) injection of the conventional viral mimetic, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (PIC), renders the brain hypersusceptible to seizures induced by kainic acid (KA). At the molecular level, the hippocampus, which is the ictal site of KA-induced seizures, exhibits upregulated expression of messages encoding several inflammatory genes. Here, we profiled temporal expression of these genes at the protein level. Briefly, eight-week old female C57BL/6 mice were ip injected with 12 mg/kg of PIC and inflammatory proteins were quantified in the hippocampus and blood by ELISA. We found a robust but transient increase in blood concentration of IL-6, CXCL10, CCL2, CXCL9, CCL7 and CCL12 six hours after PIC challenge. CXCL1, IL1β, TNFα and CXCL2 featured a moderate increase. However, only four chemokines were increased in the hippocampus. CXCL10 showed the highest increase 6–12 h after PIC challenge, and its level dwindled to the baseline by 48 h. CXCL1, CXCl9 and CXCL2 were also transiently elevated but their maximal values were by an order of magnitude lower than the values for CXCL10. These results indicate that CXCL10 is the primary inflammatory protein generated in the hippocampus in response to PIC challenge, and that this chemokine may drive the development of seizure hypersusceptibility. In addition, the hippocampus featured a protracted increase in the levels of anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a, indicating the activation of the complement cascades.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ben-Ari Y, Cossart R (2000) Kainate, a double agent that generates seizures: two decades of progress. Trends Neurosci 23:580–587
Chen Z, Jalabi W, Hu W, Park HJ, Gale JT, Kidd GJ, Bernatowicz R, Gossman ZC, Chen JT, Dutta R, Trapp BD (2014) Microglial displacement of inhibitory synapses provides neuroprotection in the adult brain. Nat Commun 5:4486
Cho J, Nelson TE, Bajova H, Gruol DL (2009) Chronic CXCL10 alters neuronal properties in rat hippocampal culture. J Neuroimmunol 207:92–100
Clarner T, Janssen K, Nellessen L, Stangel M, Skripuletz T, Krauspe B, Hess FM, Denecke B, Beutner C, Linnartz-Gerlach B, Neumann H, Vallieres L, Amor S, Ohl K, Tenbrock K, Beyer C, Kipp M (2015) CXCL10 triggers early microglial activation in the cuprizone model. J Immunol 194:3400–3413
Cunningham C, Campion S, Teeling J, Felton L, Perry VH (2007) The sickness behaviour and CNS inflammatory mediator profile induced by systemic challenge of mice with synthetic double-stranded RNA (poly I:C). Brain Behav Immun 21:490–502
Dantzer R (2006) Cytokine, sickness behavior, and depression. Neurol Clin 24:441–460
Dantzer R, Kelley KW (2007) Twenty years of research on cytokine-induced sickness behavior. Brain Behav Immun 21:153–160
Hunsberger HC, Wang D, Petrisko TJ, Alhowail A, Setti SE, Suppiramaniam V, Konat GW, Reed MN (2016) Peripherally restricted viral challenge elevates extracellular glutamate and enhances synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. J Neurochem 138:307–316
Hunsberger HC, Konat GW, Reed MN (2017) Peripheral viral challenge elevates extracellular glutamate in the hippocampus leading to seizure hypersusceptibility. J Neurochem 141:341–346
Ji K, Miyauchi J, Tsirka SE (2013) Microglia: an active player in the regulation of synaptic activity. Neural Plast 2013:627325
Kettenmann H, Kirchhoff F, Verkhratsky A (2013) Microglia: new roles for the synaptic stripper. Neuron 77:10–18
Kirschman LT, Borysiewicz E, Fil D, Konat GW (2011) Peripheral immune challenge with dsRNA enhances kainic acid-induced status epilepticus. Metab Brain Dis 26:91–93
Lax P, Limatola C, Fucile S, Trettel F, Di BS, Renzi M, Ragozzino D, Eusebi F (2002) Chemokine receptor CXCR2 regulates the functional properties of AMPA-type glutamate receptor GluR1 in HEK cells. J Neuroimmunol 129:66–73
Li G, Bauer S, Nowak M, Norwood B, Tackenberg B, Rosenow F, Knake S, Oertel WH, Hamer HM (2011) Cytokines and epilepsy. Seizure 20:249–256
Michalovicz LT, Konat GW (2014) Peripherally restricted acute phase response to a viral mimic alters hippocampal gene expression. Metab Brain Dis 29:75–86
Michalovicz LT, Lally BE, Konat GW (2015) Peripheral challenge with a viral mimic upregulates expression of the complement genes in the hippocampus. J Neuroimmunol 285:137–142
Nelson TE, Gruol DL (2004) The chemokine CXCL10 modulates excitatory activity and intracellular calcium signaling in cultured hippocampal neurons. J Neuroimmunol 156:74–87
Pruett SB, Schwab C, Zheng Q, Fan R (2004) Suppression of innate immunity by acute ethanol administration: a global perspective and a new mechanism beginning with inhibition of signaling through TLR3. J Immunol 173:2715–2724
Quan N, Banks WA (2007) Brain-immune communication pathways. Brain Behav Immun 21:727–735
Ragozzino D, Giovannelli A, Mileo AM, Limatola C, Santoni A, Eusebi F (1998) Modulation of the neurotransmitter release in rat cerebellar neurons by GRO beta. Neuroreport 9:3601–3606
Rappert A, Bechmann I, Pivneva T, Mahlo J, Biber K, Nolte C, Kovac AD, Gerard C, Boddeke HW, Nitsch R, Kettenmann H (2004) CXCR3-dependent microglial recruitment is essential for dendrite loss after brain lesion. J Neurosci 24:8500–8509
Schafer DP, Lehrman EK, Kautzman AG, Koyama R, Mardinly AR, Yamasaki R, Ransohoff RM, Greenberg ME, Barres BA, Stevens B (2012) Microglia sculpt postnatal neural circuits in an activity and complement-dependent manner. Neuron 74:691–705
Scheid R, Teich N (2007) Neurologic manifestations of ulcerative colitis. Eur J Neurol 14:483–493
Tellez-Zenteno JF, Matijevic S, Wiebe S (2005) Somatic comorbidity of epilepsy in the general population in Canada. Epilepsia 46:1955–1962
Verrotti A, Tocco AM, Coppola GG, Altobelli E, Chiarelli F (2009) Afebrile benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis: a new entity? Acta Neurol Scand 120:73–79
Vlkolinsky R, Siggins GR, Campbell IL, Krucker T (2004) Acute exposure to CXC chemokine ligand 10, but not its chronic astroglial production, alters synaptic plasticity in mouse hippocampal slices. J Neuroimmunol 150:37–47
Wang JG, Strong JA, Xie W, Yang RH, Coyle DE, Wick DM, Dorsey ED, Zhang JM (2008) The chemokine CXCL1/growth related oncogene increases sodium currents and neuronal excitability in small diameter sensory neurons. Mol Pain 4:38
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by WVU Senate and WVU PSCOR grants. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Petrisko, T., Konat, G. Peripheral viral challenge triggers hippocampal production of inflammatory proteins. Metab Brain Dis 32, 1249–1254 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-017-0030-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-017-0030-4