Tetramethylpyrazine Protects Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Integrity by Modulating Microglia Polarization Through Activation of STAT3/SOCS3 and Inhibition of NF-kB Signaling Pathways in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Mice

We previously reported that tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) alleviates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) by decreasing glia activation. Activated microglia has been shown to mediate blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption, which is a primary and continuous pathological characteristic of multiple sclerosis (MS). Therefore, in this study, we further investigated whether TMP protects the BSCB integrity by inhibition of glia activation to alleviate EAE. Extravasation of evans blue was used to detect the BSCB disruption. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)/interlukine-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interlukine-4 (IL-4)/interlukine-10 (IL-10) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. BV2 glial cells stimulated by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were co-cultured with human brain microvascular endothelial cells to investigate the effect of TMP on the BSCB disruption. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the microglia phenotype. Western blot was performed to reveal the signaling pathways involved in the microglia activation. In this study, most importantly, we found that TMP protects the BSCB integrity by modulating microglia polarization from M1 phenotype to M2 phenotype through activation of STAT3/SOCS3 and inhibition of NF-kB signaling pathways. Moreover, TMP significantly preserves the tight junction proteins, reduces the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta) and increases the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) from IFN-gamma-stimulated BV2 microglia cells. Consequently, protection of the BSCB integrity leads to alleviation of clinical symptoms and demyelination in EAE mice. Therefore, TMP might be an effective therapeutic agent for cerebral disorders with BBB or BSCB disruption, such as ischemic stroke, MS, and traumatic brain injury.

Automated summary

TMP protects BSCB integrity by modulating microglia polarization and signaling pathways, leading to decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased anti-inflammatory cytokines secretion. This alleviates clinical symptoms and demyelination in EAE mice, suggesting TMP as a potential therapeutic agent for disorders with BSCB disruption.