Mesenchymal stem cells induce the ramification of microglia via the small RhoGTPases Cdc42 and Rac1

Abstract

Activated microglia play a central role in the course of neurodegenerative diseases, as they secrete cytotoxic substances which lead to neuronal cell death. Understanding the mechanisms that drive activation of microglia is essential to reverse this phenotype and to protect from neurodegeneration. With some exceptions, evidence indicates that changes in cell morphology from a star shape to a round and flat shape accompany the process of activation in microglia. In this study, we investigated the effect of adipose-tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs), which exert important anti-inflammatory actions, in microglia morphology. Microglia exposed to ASCs or their secreted factors (conditioned medium) underwent a cell shape change into a ramifying morphology in basal and inflammatory conditions, similar to that observed in microglia found in healthy brain. Colony-stimulating factor-1 secreted by ASCs played a critical role in the induction of this phenotype. Importantly, ASCs reversed the activated round phenotype induced in microglia by bacterial endotoxins. The ramifying morphology of microglia induced by ASCs was associated with a decrease of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFalpha and IL6, an increase in phagocytic activity, and the upregulation of neurotrophic factors and of Arginase-1, a marker for M2-like regulatory microglia. Moreover, activation of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt pathway and the RhoGTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 played a major role in the acquisition of this anti-inflammatory phenotype. Therefore, these RhoGTPases emerge as key players in the ramification and deactivation of microglia by anti-inflammatory agents like ASCs, being fundamental to maintain the tissue-surveying, CNS supporting state of microglia in healthy conditions.