Biology subjects

Foltz, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Foltz, A..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Blockade of VCAM1 or VLA4 preserves cerebrovasculature and prevents cognitive decline late after stroke

Infarct-induced neurodegeneration occurs chronically after stroke, doubling the risk of dementia. Endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) facilitates blood-brain barrier opening and immune cell diapedesis by binding very late antigen 4 (VLA4) on immune cells. We hypothesized that vascular dysfunction persists after stroke and contributes to chronic neuroinflammation and cognitive decline via signaling through the VLA4/VCAM1 axis. We used adult (3-5 month old) and middle-aged (10 month old) C57BL/6J male & female mice and a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model. Sham surgery consisted of an identical procedure without occlusion of the artery. We quantified vascular integrity using blood vessel length, pericyte coverage of vasculature, tight junctions, and extravascular fibrinogen leakage by immunostaining. Cognitive testing was performed using both Barnes maze and novel object recognition prior to stroke, and 1 and 6 weeks after stroke, and replicated in both male and female mice. We utilized anti-VCAM1, anti-VLA4 or isotype control antibodies to block VCAM1 or VLA4 function, and then to confirm mechanisms we utilized single cell RNA sequencing on immune and endothelial cells, aptamer-based plasma proteomics, and additional immunostaining for vascular integrity. Mouse brains exhibited signs of persistent vascular dysfunction and loss of blood-brain barrier integrity at 8 weeks after stroke, compared to sham animals. We observed reduced ZO-1 tight junction and pericyte coverage of vasculature, and increased extravascular fibrinogen. Mice with stroke also developed a cognitive deficit in both Barnes maze and novel object by 6 weeks. Treatment with anti-VCAM1 or anti-VLA4 resulted in mice with stroke performing as well as sham mice treated with isotype control antibody on both the Barnes maze and novel object recognition tasks. Anti-VCAM1 and anti-VLA4 both increased expression of blood-brain barrier maintenance genes in brain endothelial cells, while only minimally altering immune cell gene expression. Immune cell infiltration was reduced by anti-VCAM1 but not anti-VLA4 in tissue sections. In contrast to this, both antibodies increased blood vessel length and pericyte vascular coverage. Finally, extravascular fibrinogen was reduced by both antibody treatments in multiple brain regions. Together, our findings establish the VLA4/VCAM1 axis as a promising target to preserve vascular integrity and prevent cognitive decline late after stroke. Our data is consistent with a model where blocking either VCAM1 or VLA4 chronically after stroke promotes new blood vessel growth and maturation and restores the blood-brain barrier to prevent infarct-induced neurodegeneration.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Spatiotemporal transcriptomic niches of complement pathway and serine protease inhibitor activation in aging and infection

Aging is a multifactorial and complex physiological process, affecting every organ with characteristic manifestations. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive aging processes is crucial to targeting age-related disorders. Recent reports suggest that severe post-infection syndromes can partially accelerate aging. However, the underlying gene-encoded regulatory interplay, whether being shared or distinct between aging and infection biology are poorly understood. Here, we employed spatial transcriptomics to establish a multi-organ atlas (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen) across the mouse lifespan (4, 17, and 26 months). Dissecting high-quality fresh-frozen tissue samples at unbiased molecular resolution, we found both organ-specific and cross-organ gene dysregulation upon aging. We identified age-related trajectories in gene expression and cell state, some only detectable within their spatial context, and provide validation at subcellular resolution. The most prominent effect was organ-wide immune system activation with spatially variable severity. We therefore evaluated how aging mimics the expression signatures observed in systemic infection, using spatial transcriptomics slices from young mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. While on the gene level the effect sizes caused by the infection outweighed those of aging, we reveal a shared activation of the early complement pathway (C4b) and serine protease inhibitors (Serpin gene family) within by phenotype distinct spatial niches. We show that this common RNA signature is driven by tissue-specific cell types and eventually affects protein levels in the aged brain, rendering them a target for future mechanistic and drug discovery studies. Taken together, our study provides a coherent in-depth and cross-organ transcriptomics atlas to systematically study aging and infection in the mouse at spatiotemporal resolution. Key highlightsO_LILarge-scale and high-resolution atlas of spatial transcriptomics from six organs to study aging and systemic infection across two mouse cohorts. C_LIO_LIStrong transcriptional alterations found in distinct organ-specific niches for aging and acute malaria, with organ- and cell type-associated immune responses. C_LIO_LIDysregulation of early complement proteases (C4b) and serine protease inhibitors (Serpina3n) as common theme across central nervous system and peripheral organs. C_LI

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Augmentation of a neuroprotective myeloid state by hematopoietic cell transplantation

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease associated with inflammatory demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is under investigation as a promising therapy for treatment-refractory MS. Here we identify a reactive myeloid state in chronic experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) mice and MS patients that is surprisingly associated with neuroprotection and immune suppression. HCT in EAE mice leads to an enhancement of this myeloid state, as well as clinical improvement, reduction of demyelinated lesions, suppression of cytotoxic T cells, and amelioration of reactive astrogliosis reflected in reduced expression of EAE- associated gene signatures in oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Further enhancement of myeloid cell incorporation into the CNS following a modified HCT protocol results in an even more consistent therapeutic effect corroborated by additional amplification of HCT-induced transcriptional changes, underlining myeloid-derived beneficial effects in the chronic phase of EAE. Replacement or manipulation of CNS myeloid cells thus represents an intriguing therapeutic direction for inflammatory demyelinating disease.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

The genome of stress tolerant crop wild relativePaspalum vaginatum leads to increased biomassproductivity in the crop Zea mays

A number of crop wild relatives can tolerate extreme stressed to a degree outside the range observed in their domesticated relatives. However, it is unclear whether or how the molecular mechanisms employed by these species can be translated to domesticated crops. Paspalum Paspalum vaginatum is a self-incompatible and multiply stress-tolerant wild relative of maize and sorghum. Here we describe the sequencing and pseudomolecule level assembly of a vegetatively propagated accession of P. vaginatum. Phylogenetic analysis based on 6,151 single-copy syntenic orthologous conserved in 6 related grass species placed paspalum as an outgroup of the maize-sorghum clade demonstrating paspalum as their closest sequenced wild relative. In parallel metabolic experiments, paspalum, but neither maize nor sorghum, exhibited significant increases in trehalose when grown under nutrient-deficit conditions. Inducing trehalose accumulation in maize, imitating the metabolic phenotype of paspalum, resulting in autophagy dependent increases in biomass accumulation.

plant biology↗