NogoA-expressing astrocytes limit peripheral macrophage infiltration after ischemic brain injury in primates

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27245-0
• Publication Date: 2021-11-25T11:08:02Z
• Authors: Anthony G. Boghdadi; Joshua Spurrier; Leon Teo; Mingfeng Li; Mario Skarica; Benjamin Cao; William C. Kwan; Tobias D. Merson; Susan K. Nilsson; Nenad Sestan; Stephen M. Stritt...; James A. Bourne
• Keywords: 570; Science; Nogo Proteins; 610; Article; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; GAP-43 Protein; Solitary Nucleus; Animals; Receptors, Immunologic; Visual Cortex; 0303 health sciences; Membrane Glycoproteins; Macrophages; Q; Membrane Proteins; Callithrix; Up-Regulation; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Stroke; Oligodendroglia; Astrocytes; Brain Injuries; Female; Transcriptome

AbstractAstrocytes play critical roles after brain injury, but their precise function is poorly defined. Utilizing single-nuclei transcriptomics to characterize astrocytes after ischemic stroke in the visual cortex of the marmoset monkey, we observed nearly complete segregation between stroke and control astrocyte clusters. Screening for the top 30 differentially expressed genes that might limit stroke recovery, we discovered that a majority of astrocytes expressed RTN4A/ NogoA, a neurite-outgrowth inhibitory protein previously only associated with oligodendrocytes. NogoA upregulation on reactive astrocytes post-stroke was significant in both the marmoset and human brain, whereas only a marginal change was observed in mice. We determined that NogoA mediated an anti-inflammatory response which likely contributes to limiting the infiltration of peripheral macrophages into the surviving parenchyma.