RETRACTED ARTICLE: Modulation of microglial phenotypes by dexmedetomidine through TREM2 reduces neuroinflammation in heatstroke

Abstract

No FDA approved pharmacological therapy is available to reduce neuroinflammation following heatstroke. Previous studies have indicated that dexmedetomidine (DEX) could protect against inflammation and brain injury in various inflammation-associated diseases. However, no one has tested whether DEX has neuro-protective effects in heatstroke. In this study, we focused on microglial phenotypic modulation to investigate the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of DEX in vivo and in vitro. We found that DEX treatment reduced the expression of CD68, iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-1β, and increased the expression of CD206, Arg1, IL-10 and TGF-β in microglia, ameliorating heatstroke induced neuroinflammation and brain injury in mice. TREM2, whose neuro-protective function has been validated by genetic studies in Alzheimer’s disease and Nasu-Hakola disease, was significantly promoted by DEX in the microglia. TREM2 esiRNA reversed the DEX-induced activation of PI3K/Akt signalling. Overall these findings indicated that DEX may serve, as a potential therapeutic approach to ameliorate heatstroke induced neuroinflammation and brain injury via TREM2 by activating PI3K/Akt signalling.

Introduction

Heatstroke is a life-threatening disease characterized by a core body temperature over 40 °C and dysfunction of the central nervous system. It often develops into multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), which has fatality rates of 40% to 70%. Moreover, even after treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU), the case fatality rate has been reported to be 63%^1,2. Disorders of the central nervous system have always been an important basis for the diagnosis of heatstroke. Furthermore, a study of the long-lasting neurological effects of heatstroke survivors found that 100% of the 90 patients included had acute neurological symptoms, and 23.3% had neurological sequelae³. Therefore, central nervous system injury caused by heatstroke has been a hot research topic. Previous animal studies have shown that heatstroke can directly damage brain tissue and induce neuronal cell oedema, degeneration and even necrosis^4,5. Recent studies have found that the neuropathological changes in heatstroke are not solely caused by direct damage from heat exposure^6,7. Increasing numbers of researchers believe that neuroinflammation is an important cause of heatstroke. Reducing neuroinflammation can rapidly improve the symptoms of heatstroke and prolong the survival time of rats with heatstroke⁸.

Microglia are the main innate immune cells in the central nervous system and are involved in the inflammatory response. In the physiological state, microglia in the resting state function mainly in nutritional support and immune surveillance in the central nervous system. When pathological stimulation occurs, microglia are activated. Activated microglia can switch phenotype under pathological or harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damage and stress. Microglia with nerve damaging functions can release cytotoxic inflammatory factors, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, while microglia without nerve damaging functions can phagocytose cellular debris and pathogens and secrete neurotrophic factors and antiserum inflammatory factors, such as IL-10, IL-13, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, and Arg1^9,10. Our previous study found that the central nervous system of heatstroke mice is occupied by microglia with nerve damaging functions. The clinical treatment of patients with heatstroke, includes some methods to reduce damage to the nervous system by inhibiting the activation of microglia and reducing inflammation of the central nervous system, but the effect is not ideal. Central nerve injury can be improved by inhibiting inflammation of the central nervous system. Rather than simply suppressing microglial activation across the board, it is better to induce microglial cells to transform to a phenotype with no nerve damaging functions. The regulation of microglial polarization may be an effective method for treating central nervous inflammation. Current clinical medications for the treatment of heatstroke, such as glucocorticoids, aspirin, ulinastatin, and Xuebijing injection, have certain protective effects on the central nervous system, but their efficacy still needs to be improved. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new drugs for the treatment of heatstroke.

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a highly selective α2 adrenoceptor (AR) agonist that is widely used in analgesics, anxiolytics, and sedation and is clinically used as an adjuvant for anaesthesia. In late 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved DEX as a sedative for use in intensive care. To date, few studies have found DEX to be associated with toxic metabolites. With increasing clinical applications, in addition to the well-known sedative and analgesic effects without respiratory depression, the organ-protective effect of DEX has become a research hotspot in recent years. Clinical studies have shown that DEX can reduce the level of inflammatory cytokines in critically ill patients, relieve organ damage and improve survival^{11, 12–13}. Many clinical and basic studies have confirmed that DEX can reduce the inflammatory response by regulating the immune system, activate anti-apoptotic signalling pathways to protect cells from damage, and exert protective effects on a variety of organs, including the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys. In the study of the organ-protective effects of DEX, the protective effect on the nervous system was the first identified and has been researched in the greatest depth. DEX can reduce neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis and can alleviate the progression of central nervous system diseases^14,15. DEX also exerts anti-inflammatory effects mainly through anti-sympathetic effects and activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway^{16, 17–18}. Recent studies have shown that DEX can reduce neuroinflammation by promoting the differentiation of microglial cells into a phenotype with no nerve damaging functions^19,20. Interestingly, DEX has protective effects against the systemic inflammatory response and multiple organ injury induced by heatstroke²¹.

We hypothesized that DEX can improve neuroinflammation by switching the microglial phenotype to protect against the central nervous system dysfunction caused by heatstroke. In our study, a mouse heatstroke model and a heat stress model with a mouse microglial cell line (BV2) were established. The protective effect of DEX on heatstroke-induced neurological dysfunction and its possible mechanisms involving microglial activation were explored. Our research provides a laboratory basis for the clinical treatment of heatstroke.

Results

DEX reduces central nervous system dysfunction and neuroinflammation caused by heatstroke

To test whether DEX has a protective effect against the central nervous system dysfunction caused by heatstroke, we used a method that scores the degree of neurological deficit to test the movement, sensation and balance of mice 12 h after heatstroke. The results reflect the degree of damage to the neurological function of the mice (Fig. 1A). The mice in the control group and DEX group showed no significant neurological impairment. However, the degree of neurological damage in the heatstroke group was serious (p < 0.01). DEX significantly decreased the mNSS score which was promoted by heatstroke (p < 0.05) (Fig. 1A). Pathological changes in the cerebral cortex were detected by HE staining. The cytoplasm and nuclear structure in the control group were clear, whereas, the brain cells in the heatstroke group were swollen, and the nucleus was condensed and vacuolized. After DEX treatment, the degree of brain cell damage from heatstroke was significantly ameliorated (Fig. 1B). The expression of inflammatory factors in the cerebral cortex was also detected. Compared with the heatstroke group, the DEX group had significantly reduced expression of TNF-α and IL-1β (p < 0.05) (Fig. 1C,D). DEX also significantly reversed the heatstroke-induced decrease in IL-10 and TGF-β expression (p < 0.05) (Fig. 1E,F). All these results suggest that DEX can reduce the neuroinflammation and nerve damage caused by heatstroke.

Figure 1 [Images not available. See PDF.]

DEX reduces the nerve damage and neuroinflammation caused by heatstroke. ICR mice were exposed to an ambient temperature of 41 ± 0.5 °C until Tc > 42.7 °C (heatstroke onset), and then injected intraperitoneally with 25 µg/kg DEX (Heat + DEX group) or 0.9% saline (Heat group), followed by a 12-h recovery at an ambient temperature of 23 ± 1 °C. (A) The neurological function of mice was evaluated by the modified neurological severity score (mNSS). (B) Representative pathological pictures of brain sections stained with haematoxylin-eosin (HE) at a magnification of X-200. (C–F) Cytokine expression levels in the cerebral cortex were assessed by ELISA. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001 vs. Control. #p < 0.05 vs. Heat.

DEX promotes microglial transformation into a phenotype with no nerve- damaging function in heatstroke

In recent years, the phenotypic transformation of microglia has been reported to play an important role in mediating nervous system damage and repair. INOS and Arg1 have been reported to be markers of microglia with or without nerve damaging function, respectively. We examined the expression of iNOS and Arg1 in the cerebral cortex of mice by Western blotting (Fig. 2A). The results showed that DEX significantly decreased iNOS protein expression (p < 0.05) in heatstroke mice, while the expression of Arg1 (p < 0.01) was obviously enhanced. Interestingly, the expression of TREM2 in the cerebral cortex was consistent with that of Arg1 (p < 0.01) (Fig. 2A). The phenotype of the microglia in the cerebral cortex was also assessed by confocal microscopy. Microglia were labelled with Ibal, and CD68 and CD206 were used to indicate microglia with or without nerve damaging functions, respectively. The results showed that DEX promoted a microglial switch to the phenotype without nerve damaging functions in heatstroke mice (Fig. 2B,C,D,E). These results indicated that DEX can promote the differentiation of cerebral microglia into the neuro-protective type in mice with heatstroke and that the polarization phenotype of microglia may be related to the regulation of TREM2 expression.

Figure 2 [Images not available. See PDF.]

DEX promotes the transformation of mouse brain microglia to the neuro-protective type in heatstroke. ICR mice were exposed to an ambient temperature of 41 ± 0.5 °C until Tc > 42.7 °C (heatstroke onset), and then injected intraperitoneally with 25 µg/kg DEX (heat + DEX group) or 0.9% saline (heat group), followed by a 12-h recovery at an ambient temperature of 23 ± 1 °C. (A) The expression of TREM2, iNOS, and Arg1 in the cerebral cortex was determined by Western blotting. (B) Microglia with nerve-damaging functions in the cerebral cortex were visualized by immunofluorescence staining of Iba1 and CD68 at a magnification of X-400. (C) Bar graphs show the semi-quantification of the relative fluorescence intensity of CD68 and Iba1 in microglia. (D) Microglia without nerve damaging functions in the cerebral cortex were visualized by immunofluorescence staining of Iba1 and CD206 at a magnification of X-400. (E) Bar graphs show the semi-quantification of the relative fluorescence intensity of CD206 and Iba1 in microglia. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: Two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05 vs. Control. #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.001 vs. Heat.

DEX promotes the transition of BV-2 microglia to the neuro-protective type under heat stress

Before proving our hypothesis proposed above, we first needed to verify whether DEX can induce the phenotypic transformation of BV-2 microglia in vitro under heat stress. We detected the secretion of IL-1β, TGF-β and IL-10 in the supernatants of heat stressed BV-2 cells by ELISA. Heat stress significantly increased the expression of IL-1β (p < 0.01) and decreased the expression of IL-10 (p < 0.05) and TGF-β (p < 0.05) in BV-2 cells, while pretreatment with DEX significantly reversed the effects on the expression of these markers (Fig. 3A–C). Then we detected the expression of TREM2 and Arg1 by Western blotting. The results showed that following treatment with DEX, the protein expression levels of TREM2 (p < 0.01) and Arg1 (p < 0.01) were significantly promoted, even after heat stress (Fig. 3D). Finally, we assessed the phenotype of BV-2 cells by confocal microscopy. BV-2 cells were labelled with CD206. Following treatment with DEX, the fluorescence intensity of CD206 was increased even under heat stress conditions (Fig. 3E). In summary, DEX promoted the transition of BV-2 microglia to the neuro-protective type under heat stress, and TREM2 may participate in microglial M2 polarization.

Figure 3 [Images not available. See PDF.]

DEX promotes the transition of BV-2 microglia to the neuro-protective type. BV-2 cells were pretreated with or without DEX (16 µg/ml), and then subjected to heat exposure at 42 °C for 2 h, followed by a 6-h recovery period at 37 °C. (A–C) The protein levels of IL-1β, TGF-β and IL-10 were assayed by ELISA. (D) The expression of TREM2 and Arg1 in BV-2 cells was determined by Western blotting. (E) Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy was performed on cells that were immunoreacted with antibodies against CD206 after treatment. The images are presented at a magnification of X400. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001 vs. Control. #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.001 vs. Heat.

TREM2 knockdown reduces the DEX-induced transition of microglia to the neuro-protective type under heat stress

To further verify that TREM2 plays a key role in the DEX-induced promotion of the transition of microglia to the neuro-protective type under heat stress, Western blotting was used to detect the expression of TREM2, iNOS and Arg1 after siRNA interference of TREM2 in heat-stressed microglia. The results showed that the expression of iNOS (p < 0.01) was significantly promoted and that of TREM2 (p < 0.01) and Arg1 (p < 0.01) was significantly inhibited by TREM2 esiRNA in heat stress-treated BV-2 cells (Fig. 4A). ELISA was used to measure the expression levels of inflammatory factors in the culture supernatants and the data revealed that IL-1β (p < 0.01) expression was significantly increased and IL-10 (p < 0.01) and, TGF-β (p < 0.01) expression were significantly decreased by TREM2 esiRNA in heat stress-treated BV-2 cells (Fig. 4B–D). Taken together, the results suggest that TREM2 plays a key role in the DEX-induced transition to the neuro-protective type. TREM2 knockdown prevented DEX from inducing the transition of heat-stressed microglia to the phenotype with no nerve damaging function.

Figure 4 [Images not available. See PDF.]

Effects of TREM2 esiRNA on microglial activation. BV-2 cells were pretreated with or without DEX (16 µg/ml) and TREM2 esiRNA (50 nM), and then subjected to heat exposure at 42 °C for 2 h, followed by a 6-h recovery period at 37 °C. (A) The protein expression of iNOS and Arg1 was determined by Western blotting. (B–D) The expression of IL-1β, TGF-β and IL-10 was detected by ELISA. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: Two-way ANOVA.

TREM2-mediated transition to the neuro-protective type in heat-stressed microglia potentially occurs via the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway

Recently, the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway was reported to function downstream of TREM2, which could suppress the inflammatory response and promote the phagocytic activity of microglia upon activation^22,23. Therefore, we assessed PI3K/Akt activity in microglia both in vivo and in vitro. As shown in Fig. 5, p-Akt, CD206 and Iba1 were co-expressed in the cortex of heat-stroke mice treated with DEX. TREM2 knockdown in BV-2 cells significantly reversed the DEX-induced activation of PI3K (p < 0.05) and Akt (p < 0.001) by suppressing their phosphorylation in the cytosol (Fig. 6). These results were also evidenced by immunolocalization and confocal microscopy. As shown in Fig. 7, p-Akt and CD206, exhibited a strong increase in fluorescence intensity in heat stressed BV-2 cells treated with DEX. However, activation of the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway was relieved by TREM2 esiRNA pretreatment in microglia (Fig. 7). All these data indicated that the TREM2-mediated transition to the neuro-protective type in heat-stressed microglia potentially occurs via the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway.

Figure 5 [Images not available. See PDF.]

The PI3K/AKT signalling pathway is involved in the DEX-mediated transition to the neuro-protective type in the cerebral cortex of heatstroke mice. ICR mice were exposed to an ambient temperature of 41 ± 0.5 °C until Tc > 42.7 °C (heatstroke onset), and then injected intraperitoneally with 25 µg/kg DEX (heat + DEX group) or 0.9% saline (heat group), followed by a 12-h recovery at an ambient temperature of 23 ± 1 °C. (A) The expression of p-Akt in the cerebral cortex was visualized by immunofluorescence using CD206 and Iba1 co-labelling at a magnification of X-400. (B,C) Bar graphs show the semi-quantification of the relative fluorescence intensity of p-Akt and CD206 in microglia. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: Two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05.

Figure 6 [Images not available. See PDF.]

Involvement of TREM2 in the regulation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway in heat exposure-treated BV-2 cells. BV-2 cells were pretreated with or without DEX (16 µg/ml) and TREM2 esiRNA (50 nM), and then subjected to a heat exposure at 42 °C for 2 h, followed by a 6-h recovery period at 37 °C. (A) The phosphorylation and total protein levels of PI3K and Akt in the cytosol were analysed using Western blotting. Original Western blots are presented in the Supplementary Figure. (B–E) Densitometric analysis was performed for PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt and p-Akt. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: two-way ANOVA.

Figure 7 [Images not available. See PDF.]

Localization of CD206 and p-Akt in heat exposure-treated BV-2 cells with the addition of DEX and TREM2 esiRNA. BV-2 cells were pretreated with or without DEX (16 µg/ml) and TREM2 esiRNA (50 nM), and then subjected to heat exposure at 42 °C for 2 h, followed by a 6-h recovery period at 37 °C. (A) Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy was performed on cultures that were immunoreacted with antibodies against CD206 and p-Akt. (B,C) Normalized average fluorescence intensity of p-Akt and CD206 in BV-2 cells. The data are shown as the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis: two-way ANOVA.

Discussion

Heatstroke can cause dysfunction of the central nervous system, and microglial activation might be involved in this process. Therefore, regulating the activation phenotype of microglia may have a protective effect on the central nervous system dysfunction induced by heatstroke. In our study (Fig. 8), DEX improved neurological deficits caused by heatstroke. This therapeutic effect is most likely due to the inhibitory effect of DEX on neuroinflammation. Microglia are important immune cells in the central nervous system and can change their phenotype upon activation. Microglia with nerve damaging functions exert pro-inflammatory effects, whereas neuro-protective microglia exert anti-inflammatory effects. We found that DEX promoted the transformation of microglia to a phenotype with no nerve damaging functions both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, we found that TREM2 plays an important role in regulating microglial activation. Heat stress reduced TREM2 expression, whereas DEX treatment increased it. TREM2 knockdown reduced the transformation to the neuro-protective type in microglia, and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT were promoted by DEX. Therefore, we believe that TREM2 /PI3K/Akt signalling is involved in the mechanism by which DEX regulates the microglial phenotype under heat stress conditions.

Figure 8 [Images not available. See PDF.]

Schematic of the neuro-protective role of dexmedetomidine. In this study, DEX improved neurological deficits caused by heatstroke, most likely due to its inhibitory effect on neuroinflammation. Microglia can change their phenotype upon activation. Microglia with nerve damaging functions exert pro-inflammatory effects, whereas microglia without nerve damaging functions exert anti-inflammatory effects. We found that DEX promoted microglia to transform to the phenotype with no nerve damaging functions both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, we found that TREM2 plays an important role in regulating microglial activation. Heat stress decreased TREM2 expression, whereas DEX treatment increased it. TREM2 knockdown decreased reduced transformation to the neuro-protective type and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT were promoted by DEX in microglia. Therefore, we believe that TREM2 /PI3K/Akt signalling is involved in the mechanism by which DEX regulates microglial phenotype switching under heat stress.

Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can cause a series of symptoms, such as fatigue, confusion, ataxia and coma, and in severe cases, it can cause heatstroke. Central nervous system injury is the main clinical manifestation of heatstroke and an important basis for its early diagnosis. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have reported that the excessive inflammation in the brain caused by heatstroke may be the key cause of central nervous system dysfunction. Additionally, reducing or even inhibiting the development of neuroinflammation has become one of the main goals for the clinical treatment of heatstroke. Studies have shown that direct brain cooling, the oral administration of ulinastatin or the intravenous injection of CD34-expressing placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PDMSCs) or CD34 + human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) can effectively reduce the expression levels of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in the brain tissue of rats with heatstroke. Moreover, these treatments improved the survival rate of rats with heatstroke^8,24,25. Recent studies have shown that DEX has a protective effect on the systemic inflammatory response and multiple organ damage caused by heatstroke²¹. However, whether DEX has protective effects against the central nervous system dysfunction caused by heatstroke has not yet been reported. Our study found that intraperitoneal injection of DEX reduced the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β and increased the levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β in the cerebral cortex of mice with heatstroke. These findings suggest that DEX has a certain protective effect against the central nervous system dysfunction caused by heatstroke.

Microglia are the main immune cells in the central nervous system and play roles as macrophages. Microglial activation mediates immune inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of a variety of neurological diseases. Research has confirmed that microglia can transform their phenotypes by identifying the substances associated with central nervous system repair, including extracellular signals such as chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG), soluble factors released by damaged neurons, and molecular switches (such as signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), and miRNAs)¹⁴. Controlling the change in microglial phenotype may become a new method for clinical treatment. Recent studies have shown that TREM2 alleviates the progression of Parkinson’s disease by promoting the phenotypic transformation of microglia under pathological conditions^{26, 27–28}. TREM2 activation inhibits microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and apoptotic neuron phagocytosis^29,30 and has been reported to be expressed in neurological diseases, such as traumatic brain injury, cerebral ischaemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and PD^31,32. In vivo and in vitro experiments have indicated that the inhibition of TREM2 expression aggravates α-synuclein (SYN)-induced neuroinflammation, resulting in the conversion of microglia from the neuro-protective to the nerve-damaging phenotype^26,27. However, whether TREM2 mediates the mechanism by which DEX promotes the polarization of microglia has not been reported. We detected significant decreases in the expression of the membrane receptor TREM2 in the cerebral cortex of mice with heatstroke and BV-2 cells with heat stress. DEX treatment upregulated the expression of TREM2 in heatstroke mice to some extent. Additionally, DEX promoted the microglial phenotype with no nerve damaging functions. These findings suggest that TREM2 may be involved in the DEX-mediated conversion of microglia to the neuro-protective type. In vitro, DEX treatment has been reported to promote the microglial phenotype with no nerve damaging functions in cells exposed to LPS, suggesting that DEX can be used as a potential drug for the treatment of inflammation-related encephalopathy³³. Our study further suggests that TREM2 may be a key molecule underlying the DEX-mediated transformation of microglia into the neuro-protective type.

Based on the results of our in vivo and in vitro experiments, our study reveals that TREM2 is involved in the regulation of neuroinflammation in heatstroke. TREM2 is the most highly expressed glycoprotein receptor in microglia, and its expression level in microglia is more than 300 times higher than that in astrocytes^34,35. Research has revealed a pathophysiological function of TREM2 in animal models of different central nervous system diseases. In an animal model of multiple sclerosis, TREM2 expression on the surface of microglia was significantly increased, and inflammation was aggravated after blocking TREM2. In contrast, the clinical symptoms and pathological changes of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis were improved by injecting TREM2-transduced myeloid cells^30,36. In addition, TREM2 mRNA and protein expression levels in the brains of TgCRND8 transgenic and APP23 mice, two mouse models of AD, were higher than those in wild-type mice^31,37,38. Our in vitro studies confirmed the role of TREM2 in regulating microglial inflammatory responses. After TREM2 siRNA-mediated interference, the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and iNOS were higher than those in normal microglia. Indeed, TREM2 overexpression has been shown to be associated with an increase in cell migration and a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine release³⁹.

The PI3K/AKT signalling pathway is ubiquitous in cells and has a wide range of functions. This signalling pathway regulates cell differentiation, growth, and proliferation. The P13K/AKT signalling pathway is thought to play important roles in the physiological and pathophysiological processes of neuroinflammation. Recent research demonstrated that the activation of TREM2 with its ligand could attenuate neuroinflammation and improve neurological functions by activating the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway in ICH mice⁴⁰. Activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway has been reported to reduce the LPS-induced microglial inflammatory response⁴¹. TREM2 overexpression promotes the activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway, which inhibits the inflammatory response of microglia and increases their phagocytic activity^32,42. DEX has been reported to mediate the LPS-induced phenotypic transformation of microglia by regulating the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. Furthermore, DEX can alleviate LPS-induced cell damage³³. Importantly, we found that TREM2 knockdown in microglia by siRNA interference inhibited the DEX-induced upregulation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway by heatstroke and blocked the neuro-protective phenotypic transition. These findings suggest that the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway plays an important role in mediating the protective effect of DEX on the central nervous system dysfunction caused by heatstroke.

Taken together, our results indicate that the neuro-protective effects of DEX in heatstroke are achieved through two processes. First, DEX promotes the activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway through TREM2. Second, the activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway induces microglia to transform to the neuro-protective type. These findings suggest that DEX may be a potential drug for the prevention and treatment of heatstroke.

Methods

Animals

Adult male ICR mice (8–10 weeks of age) were obtained from the Animal Center of the Army Medical University (Chongqing, China). All animals were housed at a constant temperature (23 ± 1 °C) and humidity (55 ± 5%). Food and water were provided ad libitum. The Welfare and Ethics Committee of the Army Medical University approved the experimental protocol. The care and handing of laboratory animals were conducted according to the Animal Research Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines and the National Institutes of Health guidelines.

Experimental design

ICR mice were divided into three groups by a computerized randomization procedure. Mice in the Control group were maintained at ambient temperature (23 ± 1 °C). Mice in the Heat group were exposed to an ambient temperature of 41 ± 0.5 °C in a specific environmental control smart chamber (HOPE-MED 8150E, Tianjing, China) until a core temperature of (Tc) > 42.7 °C was achieved (Heatstroke onset). The Heat group animals were then transferred to an ambient temperature of 23 ± 1 °C to recover for 12 h⁴³. Tc was monitored at 15-min intervals using a digital thermometer (ALC-ET06, Shanghai Alcott Biotech Co, Shanghai, China) which was inserted 2 cm into the rectum. Mice in the DEX group were injected intraperitoneally with 25 µg/kg DEX (Selleck; USA) (the Control group was injected with 0.9% saline) immediately after the onset of heatstroke²¹. Mice were finally anaesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital (40 mg/kg) and cerebral cortex tissue was harvested from the mice. The tissues were lysed in RIPA lysis buffer (Beyotime Company, Jiangsu, China) containing a cocktail of phosphatase and protease inhibitors (Roche Diagnostics Corp). The supernatant was collected after centrifugation for subsequent protein detection.

Neurologic deficit test

The modified neurologic severity score (mNSS) can be used to evaluate neurologic function and, is a composite of motor, reflex, and balance tests. The mNSS is graded on a scale of 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating more severe injuries; thus, the maximal deficit score is 14 and the normal score is 0⁴⁴.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

To determine the protein levels of inflammatory factors in the cerebral cortex and in the cell culture supernatants after treatment, we measured the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, TGF-β and IL-10 in the tissue homogenates and culture supernatants using commercial ELISA kits (eBioscience, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol.

Western blot analysis

Protein samples were obtained from mouse cerebral cortex tissues or BV-2 cells after transduction and cytokine stimulation and were treated with ice-cooled RIPA lysis buffer (Beyotime Company, Jiangsu, China). Subsequently, 50 μg of each sample was separated by 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transferred to PVDF membranes (Bio-Rad, CA, USA). The membranes were blocked for 1 h in 5% non-fat milk dissolved in Tris-buffered saline containing 0.1% Tween 20 (TBST) and then incubated separately with antibodies against inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS; #13120S, CST, USA), TREM2 (sc-48765, Santa Cruz, USA), arginase-1 (sc-271430, Santa Cruz, USA), phospho-phosphoinositide 3-kinase (p-PI3K; #17366S, CST, USA), phospho-AKT (#4051S, CST, USA), PI3K (#4292S, CST, USA), AKT (#4691S, CST, USA), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH; #2118S, CST, USA) and tubulin (TA5068053, OriGene, USA) overnight at 4 °C. After three washes in TBST, the membranes were incubated with appropriate horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (ZB2301, ZB2305, ZsBio, China). Protein bands were visualized by enhanced chemiluminescence reagent (Bio-Rad, USA) and analysed with a ChemiDoc MP gel imaging system (Bio-Rad, USA).

Immunofluorescence of brain tissue

Brains were postfixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 h. The brain was sliced at 20-µm intervals from the bregma, and the brain sections were washed in PBS, blocked with goat serum (ZsBio, China) at room temperature for 1 h and washed three times in PBS. Immunofluorescence staining was performed using anti-rabbit Iba1 (019-19741, Wako, Japan), mouse anti-rat CD68 (sc-5474, Santa Cruz, USA), and goat anti-mouse CD206 (sc-58986, Santa Cruz, USA) at 4 °C overnight and with chicken anti-goat IgG (H + L) CF633 (SAB4600124, Sigma-Aldrich, USA), rabbit anti-mouse IgG (H + L) Alexa Fluor 488 (A11059, Lifetech, USA), and monkey anti-rabbit IgG (H + L) CF568 secondary antibodies (SAB4600076, Sigma-Aldrich, USA). Nuclei were stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI, Beyotime Biotechnology, China) at room temperature for 5 min, and immunostained samples were observed and photographed using an LSM 780 confocal laser scanning microscope (Carl Zeiss GmbH, Jena, Germany). The average fluorescence intensity of the frontoparietal cortex motor area of each slice was calculated by ImageJ 1.62 software and the average fluorescence intensity of 10 slices was taken from each animal. The relative fluorescence intensity was expressed as a percentage of that of the Control group using the following formula: The relative fluorescence intensity (%) = the average fluorescence intensity of the experimental group/the control group × 100.

Cell culture and treatments

BV2 cells were cultured in DMEM (Gibco, USA) with 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS, HyClone, USA), 100 U/mL penicillin and 100 μg/mL streptomycin at 37 °C in a humidified 5% CO₂ atmosphere. After the cell density reached 80%, the cells were seeded at 1 × 10⁶ cells/well onto six-well plates before further experiments, and all cells were used at passages 3–10. After 24 h of incubation, the cells were treated with or without 16 μM DEX for 1 h, and then subjected to heat stress treatment at 42 °C for 2 h, followed by a recovery period at 37 °C for 6 h⁴⁵.

Cellular immunofluorescence

BV2 microglia were grown on coverslips in 24-well plates. After fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min, the cells were blocked with goat serum (ZsBio, China) for 20 min at room temperature and then incubated at 37 °C for 1 h with rabbit anti-mouse Arg1 (Millipore, USA), rabbit anti-human CD206 (Santa Cruz, USA) and mouse anti-mouse phospho-AKT (CST, USA). After the slides were washed three times, they were incubated at 37 °C for 1 h in the dark with a secondary fluorescent chicken anti-rabbit IgG (H + L) CF633 (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) and rabbit anti-mouse AlexaFluor 488 (Lifetech, USA). After the slides were washed, the cells were stained with DAPI (Beyotime Biotechnology, China) for 15 min at 37 °C, and then the slides were mounted with an anti-fluorescence quenching agent. Images were visualized using an LSM 780 confocal laser scanning microscope (Carl Zeiss GmbH, Germany).

siRNA transfection

Cells were seeded in six-well plates at 1 × 10⁶ cells/well before further experiments. The cells were incubated at 37 °C with 5% CO₂ overnight and then transfected with 50 nM endoribonuclease-prepared small interfering RNAs (esiRNAs) targeting TREM2 (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) or a control esiRNA using DharmaFECT (GE Healthcare Dharmacon, USA), according to the manufacturer's protocols. The efficiency of esiRNA transfection was verified by qRT-PCR and Western blotting.

Statistical analysis

The results are presented as the mean ± standard error (SEM) of at least three independent experiments. Means were compared among the heatstroke/heat stress and DEX treatment groups using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). When significant interactions were present, t-tests were used to perform two-group comparisons. SPSS 18.0 (SPSS, Inc., USA) was used to determine significant differences. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 81472952, 81773396) and the PLA Logistics Research Project of China (NO. 18CXZ030). We also thank Li-Ting Wang for help with confocal microscopy.

Author contributions

X.Yang designed the research; P.L., T.S., X.L., J.Y., Z.L., Y.T., G.H., Z.W., and X.Yu performed the experiments; Y.T., G.H. and Y.W. analysed the data; P.L. and T.S. wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92906-5.

Publisher's note

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

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