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Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 276: R644-R651, 1999;
0363-6119/99 $5.00
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Vol. 276, Issue 3, R644-R651, March 1999

Acute-phase responses in transgenic mice with CNS overexpression of IL-1 receptor antagonist

Johan Lundkvist1, Anna K. Sundgren-Andersson1, Susanne Tingsborg1, Pernilla Östlund1, Catherine Engfors2, Katarina Alheim1, Tamas Bartfai1, Kerstin Iverfeldt1, and Marianne Schultzberg2

1 Department of Neurochemistry and Neurotoxicology, Arrhenius Laboratories for Natural Sciences, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm; and 2 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Family Medicine, Novum, S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden


    ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
References

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) is an endogenous antagonist that blocks the effects of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1alpha and IL-1beta by occupying the type I IL-1 receptor. Here we describe transgenic mice with astrocyte-directed overexpression of the human secreted IL-1ra (hsIL-1ra) under the control of the murine glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter. Two GFAP-hsIL-1ra strains have been generated and characterized further: GILRA2 and GILRA4. These strains show a brain-specific expression of the hsIL-1ra at the mRNA and protein levels. The hsIL-1ra protein was approximated to ~50 ng/brain in cytosolic fractions of whole brain homogenates, with no differences between male and female mice or between the two strains. Furthermore, the protein is secreted, inasmuch as the concentration of hsIL-1ra in the cerebrospinal fluid was 13 (GILRA2) to 28 (GILRA4) times higher in the transgenic mice than in the control animals. To characterize the transgenic phenotype, GILRA mice and nontransgenic controls were injected with recombinant human IL-1beta (central injection) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS, peripheral injection). The febrile response elicited by IL-1beta (50 ng/mouse icv) was abolished in hsIL-1ra-overexpressing animals, suggesting that the central IL-1 receptors were occupied by antagonist. The peripheral LPS injection (25 µg/kg ip) triggered a fever in overexpressing and control animals. Moreover, no differences were found in LPS-induced (100 and 1,000 µg/kg ip; 1 and 6 h after injection) IL-1beta and IL-6 serum levels between GILRA and wild-type mice. On the basis of these results, we suggest that binding of central IL-1 to central IL-1 receptors is not important in LPS-induced fever or LPS-induced IL-1beta and IL-6 plasma levels.

glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter; lipopolysaccharide; interleukin-1; cytokine


    INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
References

THE PLEIOTROPIC CYTOKINE interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a central role in local inflammatory and systemic responses after infection. IL-1 activates a variety of cell types such as leukocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, resulting in increased expression of acute-phase proteins, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and other inflammatory mediators, including prostaglandins (7). IL-1 is biologically active at very low concentrations, and only a few IL-1 receptors on each cell need to be occupied to elicit the intracellular signaling cascade (8). Hence, a strict regulation of IL-1's biologic activity is necessary; this is achieved by several mechanisms, including the existence of an endogenous antagonist. More explicitly, the IL-1 family of proteins consists of at least three different gene products: the agonists IL-1alpha and IL-1beta and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) (2, 10, 22). The IL-1ra, with the unique property of being an endogenously produced antagonist, exists in three molecular forms: one secreted and two intracellular forms (sIL-1ra and icIL-1ra types I and II), all of which are encoded by a single gene and generated by alternative splicing at the first exon (10, 15, 29). The secreted form acts as an endogenous antagonist by binding to the signaling type I IL-1 receptor without eliciting receptor activation, whereas the function of the two intracellular forms remains unknown. It has been suggested that icIL-1ra constitutes intracellular stores of the protein that become secreted and available to extracellular domains of receptors after cell death or that they affect the half-life of IL-1-induced transcripts (29, 38). Similar to the IL-1ra, the type II IL-1 receptor is believed to function as a negative regulator of IL-1alpha and IL-1beta activity, since it binds IL-1alpha and IL-1beta with higher affinity than it binds IL-1ra, but without triggering signal transduction (24).

Cells in the central nervous system (CNS) have been shown to express IL-1 receptors (11, 33), and IL-1alpha and IL-1beta affect neuroendocrine activity (37), behavior (5), slow-wave sleep (35), and appetite (28) and induce fever (18). Furthermore, IL-1alpha and IL-1beta have been implicated in several CNS disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis (25, 32, 39).

To study the role of IL-1 binding to central IL-1 receptors in different experimental paradigms, we have produced a transgenic model with overexpression of the secreted isoform of IL-1ra (sIL-1ra) in the brain. It was reasoned that a persistent overexpression of an extracellular IL-1ra (ecIL-1ra) in the brain would block the access of IL-1 agonists to central IL-1 receptors. In this report we describe the generation of two strains of transgenic mice (GILRA2 and GILRA4) with astrocytic expression of the human secreted form of IL-1ra (hsIL-1ra) under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter (27). The evidence of transgenic hsIL-1ra expression and initial studies on its effect on the acute-phase response to central IL-1beta stimuli and peripheral lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are described.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
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Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
References

Materials

B6CBA mice were obtained from Charles River (Uppsala, Sweden). A cDNA encoding hsIL-1ra, cloned in a pRcCMV vector (Invitrogen), was kindly provided by Dr. Robert W. Wilmott (Cincinnati, OH). The SV40 t intron and poly A (pA) sequence were isolated from the plasmid pcDNA1.neo (Invitrogen). The recombinant pUC18 plasmid containing the murine GFAP promoter sequence was a generous gift from Prof. George Kollias (Athens, Greece). All restriction and modifying enzymes were purchased from New England Biolabs. Ultraspec was obtained from Biotecx. Oligo(dT)12-18, dNTP, and RNAguard were purchased from Pharmacia. Maloney's murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase was obtained from GIBCO, and the Taq DNA polymerase and Wizard plasmid maxiprep kit were obtained from Promega. All oligonucleotides were synthesized by Medprobe. Sequenase 2.0 sequencing kit and [alpha -35S]dATP were purchased from Amersham. All reagents used for cell culturing were obtained from GIBCO. Cell culture dishes were purchased from Nunc. Centricon-10 columns were obtained from Amicon. The human IL-1ra (hIL-1ra) and the murine IL-6 and IL-1beta ELISA kits were obtained from R & D systems. Ketamine (Ketalar) was purchased from Parke-Davis, and xylazine (Rompun) was obtained from Bayer. LPS (055:B5) was purchased from Sigma Chemical, human recombinant IL-1beta was a kind gift of Sclavo, and the telemetry equipment for the fever measurements was purchased from MiniMitter (Sunriver, OR).

Methods

Development of GILRA mice. The murine GFAP promoter, encompassing the region -2570 to +93 (relative to the transcriptional start site), with a deletion between +6 and +87 that contains the two ATGs of the GFAP gene, was provided in the Hind III-EcoR I site of the pUC18 plasmid. The 570-bp hsIL-1ra cDNA sequence, containing the whole coding region including the ATG translational start site and the TAG stop codon, was located at the Hind III site of the pRcCMV expression vector.

The pRcCMV-hsIL-1ra plasmid was cut with the Ase I and Nae I restriction enzymes in the T7 RNA polymerase binding site and downstream of the bovine growth hormone (BGH)-pA sequence, respectively. The cleavage product, containing the hsIL-1ra cDNA and BGH-pA sequences, was subsequently blunted and ligated into the pUC18-GFAP plasmid, which had been linearized with Sal I and blunted using T4 DNA polymerase. Next, the BGH-pA sequence was removed by Not I (in the pRcCMV polylinker region) and Xba I (in the pUC18 polylinker region, downstream of the BGH-pA sequence) restriction enzyme cleavages. To obtain a splice site in the GFAP-hsIL-1ra gene construct, the 694-bp SV40 t intron-pA sequence was isolated from the pcDNA1.neo vector by using the ApaL I restriction enzyme. The desired fragment was subsequently blunted, then subjected to Not I cleavage. An Fse I-Xba I linker was then ligated to the blunted end of the SV40 t intron-pA coding DNA fragment. This piece of DNA was finally ligated into the Not I-Xba I cut pUC18-GFAP-hsIL-1ra vector, generating the plasmid: pUC18-GFAP promoter-hsIL-1ra cDNA-SV40 t intron-pA. The results of the cloning experiments were analyzed by restriction enzyme cleavage analysis and by nucleotide sequencing at the boundaries between the GFAP promoter, hsIL-1ra cDNA, SV40 t intron-pA, and pUC18, respectively. The recombinant plasmid was purified using Wizard plasmid maxiprep, then linearized with Fsp I, cutting 140 bp upstream of the GFAP promoter in the pUC18 plasmid, and Fse I. Finally, the DNA construct was microinjected into male pronuclei of fertilized eggs of the B6CBA strain, which were subsequently implanted into pseudopregnant female B6CBA mice, as described earlier (30).

Identification of GILRA founders. The DNA from tail biopsies of 3-wk-old mice was isolated according to Laird and colleagues (19). One-four hundredth of each purified DNA sample was then subjected to PCR by using hIL-1ra-specific primers (see below), and the PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis in ethidium bromide-stained, Tris acetate-EDTA-buffered 1% (wt/vol) agarose gels.

RT-PCR. Tissues from mice decapitated at 6 wk of age were rapidly dissected and stored in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was purified using the Ultraspec method. In the RT reaction, 0.2 µg of total RNA was mixed with 50 pmol of oligo(dT)12-18, 0.5 mM dNTP, 17 U RNAguard, and 100 U Maloney's murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase in a 20-µl reaction volume containing 50 mM Tris · HCl, pH 8.3, 75 mM KCl, 3 mM MgCl2, and 10 mM dithiothreitol. The reaction was performed at 37°C for 1 h, then the sample was heated to 95°C for 5 min to inactivate the enzyme. Five percent of each cDNA preparation was subjected to PCR analysis by using primer at 0.3 µM each, as well as 100 µM dNTP, 10 mM Tris · HCl, pH 8.3, 1.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, and 0.5 U Taq DNA polymerase in a final volume of 20 µl, and cycled [30 times for beta -actin and hIL-1ra and 36 times for murine IL-1ra (mIL-1ra)] through the following temperature profile: 95°C for 20 s, 51°C for 20 s, and 72°C for 20 s. The PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis in Tris acetate-EDTA-buffered, ethidium bromide-stained 1% (wt/vol) agarose gels. The sequences of the primers were as follows: hIL-1ra, 5'-CGACCCTCTGGGAGAAAATC-3' (sense) and 5'-CTCATCACCAGACTTGACAC-3' (antisense); mIL-1ra, 5'-GACCCTGCAAGATGCAAGCC-3' (sense) and 5'-CAGGACGGTCAGCCTCTAGT-3' (antisense); murine beta -actin, 5'-AGGGAAATCGTGCGTGACAT-3' (sense) and 5'-CATCTGCTGGAAGGTGGACA-3' (antisense).

Preparation of cytosolic fractions. Cytosolic fractions of mouse whole brain (without the cerebellum), cerebellum, hypothalamus, spleen, liver, and skeletal muscle from wild-type and GFAP-hsIL-1ra mice were obtained by homogenizing the tissues (10% wt/vol) in 0.05 M KH2PO4 (pH 7.3)-buffered 0.25 M sucrose solution containing 0.1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 10 µg/ml leupeptin, and 10 µg/ml pepstatin. The homogenates were centrifuged for 10 min at 1,030 g at 4°C. The supernatants (S1) were collected and subjected to another centrifugation at 11,400 g for 1 h at 4°C. Finally, the supernatants (S2) containing the cytosolic fraction were aliquoted and stored at -85°C. The protein content of each sample was determined using the "mini-Peterson" method (31).

Collection of serum. Blood from decapitated mice was collected in Eppendorf tubes. The blood was allowed to coagulate for 30 min at room temperature, and serum was obtained by centrifugation of the samples for 10 min at room temperature (1,000 rpm) followed by recovery of the supernatants. Neither EDTA nor anticoagulant was added to the sera.

Isolation of cerebrospinal fluid. Mice, 10-13 wk of age, were anesthetized with chloral hydrate (350 mg/kg). Skin and muscles were carefully removed from the neck, and a glass capillary was used to penetrate the tissue between the highest neck vertebra and the skull bone. Four to 8 µl of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were recovered from each animal.

Primary cell cultures. The brain (except the cerebellum) was dissected from mice that were <24 h old. Primary astrocyte cultures were prepared as described earlier (12). Briefly, the brain tissue was passed through an 8-µm nylon net, and the isolated cells from each mouse were seeded into ten 40-mm-diameter poly-L-lysine-coated cell culture dishes. The cells were grown in 4 ml of DMEM supplemented with 10% (vol/vol) fetal bovine serum, 100 µg/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin at 37°C in an atmosphere containing 5% CO2. Cell culture supernatants were collected every time the medium was changed (twice a week). The supernatants were subsequently concentrated, and the buffer was changed to PBS by using Centriprep-10 spin columns. In addition, half-confluent astrocytes were harvested, and cytosolic fractions were prepared as described in Preparation of cytosolic fractions.

hIL-1ra ELISA. Four different preparations were analyzed for the presence of hsIL-1ra: cytosolic fractions from mouse tissues, cultured astrocytes, CSF, and medium from astrocyte cultures. Two hundred microliters of diluted (1:10) cytosolic fractions derived from different central and peripheral tissues of hsIL-1ra-overexpressing and wild-type mice were analyzed. The CSF samples (4-8 µl) were diluted to 200 µl with ELISA dilution buffer (supplemented with the R & D ELISA kit) and investigated for the presence of hsIL-1ra. Samples (200 µl) of concentrated (10 times) cell culture supernatants derived from the cultured astrocytes (wild-type as well as hsIL-1ra-overexpressing mice) and cytosolic proteins from the astrocyte culture cells were also analyzed for astrocyte-directed expression of hsIL-1ra.

IL-1beta and mIL-6 ELISA. Female mice, 6 wk of age, were injected intraperitoneally with 0.9% NaCl or LPS. Two different doses of LPS were used (100 and 1,000 µg/kg), and the animals were decapitated 1 or 6 h after injection. Blood samples were collected from the mice, and serum was prepared as described above. Fifty microliters of each serum sample were used to measure the IL-1beta and IL-6 protein levels by ELISA. All assays were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Fever measurements. The method used for fever measurements has been described earlier (1, 4, 6). Briefly, male mice, housed one per cage, were kept in a room with controlled humidity (~80%) and at an ambient temperature of 30 ± 1°C. Sterile, wax-encapsulated MiniMitter transmitters were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of mice anesthetized with ketamine (50 mg/kg) and xylazine (10 mg/kg). At 5 days after surgery the animals were injected intracerebroventricularly with 0.9% NaCl (saline) or IL-1beta (50 ng/mouse) or intraperitoneally with 0.9% NaCl (saline) or LPS (25 µg/kg). The body temperature of each animal was measured by receivers located beneath each cage. The recordings were started on the day before injection and continued for 72 h.

The intracerebroventricular injection was performed without stereotaxic instruments according to Haley and McCormick (14). After completion of the studies, the mice were killed, the brains were dissected out, and the site of injection was inspected visually.


    RESULTS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
References

Development of hsIL-1ra-Overexpressing Mice

To produce transgenic mice with brain-directed overexpression of hsIL-1ra, a DNA construct consisting of the murine GFAP promoter, the hsIL-1ra cDNA, and a splice site from the small t intron of SV40 was generated and microinjected into fertilized mouse eggs (Fig. 1). Sixteen of 67 mice (~24%) of the F0 generation carried the transgene construct, as determined by PCR analysis of tail DNA with use of primers specific for the transgene cDNA sequence (data not shown). The male transgenic mice were then bred with wild-type female mice to establish heterozygotic, GFAP-hsIL-1ra (GILRA) transgenic strains. The nontransgenic littermates of the transgenic offspring were used as control animals.


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Fig. 1.   Construction of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-human secreted interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (hsIL-1ra) gene. Open box, GFAP promoter fragment cloned in pUC18 plasmid. Promoter element, spanning -2570 to +93 relative to transcriptional start site, contains a deletion between +6 and +87 that includes 2 ATGs of GFAP gene. Filled box, 570 bp of hsIL-1ra cDNA containing entire coding region. Stippled and hatched boxes, bovine growth hormone (BGH)-poly A (pA) and SV40 t intron-pA sequences derived from pRcCMV and pcDNA1.neo plasmids, respectively. Dashed lines, different vector-derived sequences. Final construct was released from pUC18 backbone by Fsp I and Fse I restriction enzyme cleavage.

Analysis of Transgene Expression

hIL-1ra mRNA expression. RT-PCR analysis of DNase-treated total RNA from total brain homogenates showed that six different heterozygotic GILRA mouse strains expressed hIL-1ra mRNA. Mice from GILRA2 and GILRA4 had a significantly higher expression of hsIL-1ra mRNA than the other four GILRA lines (data not shown) and were therefore chosen for further characterization. The hsIL-1ra mRNA was expressed in the CNS, but not in the liver, of the GILRA4 transgenic line (Fig. 2), whereas no hsIL-1ra mRNA could be detected in the nontransgenic siblings of the GILRA4 mice. Neither GILRA4 nor wild-type mice showed endogenous mIL-1ra mRNA expression in the different brain areas under normal conditions (36 PCR cycles; data not shown). Similar results, with exclusively central expression of hIL-1ra mRNA, were obtained from the GILRA2 line (data not shown). The fidelity of each cDNA sample was checked by concomitant RT-PCR analysis by using murine beta -actin primers (data not shown).


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Fig. 2.   Central expression of hsIL-1ra mRNA in GILRA mice. RT-PCR was performed on total RNA prepared from hypothalamus (hy), hippocampus (hi), cerebellum (c), pituitary (p), and liver (l) from 6-wk-old GILRA4+ mice and their nontransgenic littermates (GILRA4-). Primers specific for hIL-1ra cDNA sequence were used. hIL-1ra PCR product is 224 bp (arrow). -, Negative control in PCR; s, molecular weight marker. Ethidium bromide-stained 1% (wt/vol) agarose gel is shown. No PCR product is observed in peripheral tissue (l), inferring a central expression of hsIL-1ra. GILRA2 strain is identical to GILRA4 in its mRNA expression pattern (not shown).

hIL-1ra protein expression. Cytosolic fractions of different mouse brain regions and peripheral tissues were prepared from 6-wk-old mice to study the expression of hsIL-1ra at the protein level. The hsIL-1ra could be detected in the brain tissues of the GILRA2 and GILRA4 strains (~2.5 ng/ml cytosolic protein, total amount of hsIL-1ra ~50 ng/brain), whereas no hsIL-1ra immunoreactivity could be detected in the different peripheral tissues studied (Fig. 3A). No major difference in hsIL-1ra expression could be seen between the two GILRA strains or between the cerebral hemisphere and cerebellum of the respective transgene strains (Fig. 3A). A similar degree of hsIL-1ra expression was detected in 11-wk-old mice (data not shown). In the hypothalamus the hsIL-1ra expression was 4.9 ± 0.9 ng hsIL-1ra/mg cytosolic protein [pooled: GILRA2 (n = 3), GILRA4 (n = 1)]. The hsIL-1ra was expressed at a high level in the CSF of 5- to 8.5-wk-old GILRA2 mice (1.06 ± 0.4 nM) and 9- to 12-wk-old GILRA4 mice (2.37 ± 1.46 nM; Fig. 3B). The hsIL-1ra could also be detected in cells and cell culture supernatants (~50 pg/ml and ~3 nM, respectively) of primary astrocyte cultures derived from the GILRA4 strain. Primary astrocyte cultures were not prepared from GILRA2 mice.


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Fig. 3.   Central expression of hsIL-1ra protein in GILRA mice. A: presence of hsIL-1ra protein in tissues from transgenic (GILRA2+ and GILRA4+) and nontransgenic (GILRA2- and GILRA4-) mice, as investigated by ELISA. Values are means ± SE; n, number of animals averaged. Central expression of hsIL-1ra protein in cerebral hemisphere and cerebellum is significantly higher in transgenic animals (P < 0.001, Student's t-test). B: presence of hsIL-1ra in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples isolated from wild-type mice (control), 5- to 9-wk-old male and female GILRA2+ mice, and 9- to 12-wk-old male GILRA4+ mice, as measured by ELISA. Values are means ± SE; n, number of animals averaged. Significantly higher levels are observed in transgenic animals (GILRA2+ and GILRA4+; P < 0.005, Student's t-test).

Fever Measurements

A central IL-1beta challenge (50 ng of intracerebroventricularly injected human recombinant IL-1beta ) in wild-type mice produced a monophasic fever (Fig. 4A). When the same stimulus was given to GILRA2 and GILRA4 transgenic animals, however, no febrile response was triggered (Fig. 4A).


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Fig. 4.   Altered febrile response to central IL-1beta , but not peripheral lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in GILRA mice. A: fever response to 50 ng/mouse recombinant human IL-1beta injected centrally into GILRA+ mice and their nontransgenic littermates (GILRA-). Saline-injected animals served as controls. # P < 0.05, GILRA+ vs. GILRA- animals injected with IL-1. * P < 0.05, GILRA- animals injected with IL-1 vs. saline-injected control. B: fever response to 25 µg/kg LPS (ip) in GILRA+ mice and their nontransgenic siblings (GILRA-). Saline-injected animals served as controls. *** P < 0.0001, GILRA- animals injected with LPS vs. saline-injected control; square square P < 0.001, GILRA+ animals injected with LPS vs. saline-injected control. All injections were made at time 0, and all experiments were performed using male mice that were 5-12 wk old on day of fever induction. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were performed at 20-min intervals. Data were then reevaluated with same statistical test, except at intervals that previously resulted in highest significance.

The transgenic mice were then further investigated for their ability to mount a fever response to a peripheral LPS stimulus. In initial experiments, wild-type mice were injected with different doses of LPS to establish a dose-response curve of the fever response (data not shown). An LPS challenge of 25 µg/kg ip was chosen, inasmuch as it gave a clear reproducible fever response. This dose of LPS induced a slightly biphasic fever in wild-type and GILRA mice; because there was no apparent difference between the GILRA2 and GILRA4 strains, the data are reported in a pooled form as "GILRA+" animals. The fever amplitude was slightly higher in the GILRA+ than in wild-type animals, although this did not reach statistical significance (Fig. 4B).

Serum IL-6 and IL-1beta Levels

Administration of LPS (100 µg/kg ip) caused a 300- to 400-fold increase in serum IL-6 levels (~4,000 pg IL-6/ml plasma) as measured by ELISA 1 h after the LPS injection, with no significant difference detected between wild-type animals and GILRA2 and GILRA4 strains (Table 1).

                              
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Table 1.   LPS-induced serum IL-1beta and IL-6 levels in GILRA mice

In addition, LPS-induced (100 and 1,000 µg/kg ip) IL-1beta serum levels were measured by ELISA 1 and 6 h after injection. LPS stimulated the induction of IL-1beta 5- to 18-fold in serum collected 1 h after LPS injection (31-53 pg IL-1beta /ml plasma) and 18- to 64-fold in serum collected 6 h after LPS administration (110-280 pg IL-1beta /ml plasma; Table 1). There was, however, no difference in the LPS inducibility of serum IL-1beta levels between the GILRA strains and wild-type animals (Table 1).


    DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
References

The objective of the present study was to produce an animal model for studying the contribution of brain IL-1 receptors in IL-1- and LPS-induced biologic activities. It has become evident that IL-1 plays an important role in modulating CNS-mediated physiological responses (34). IL-1 effects such as fever induction, decrease in social behavior, and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activation have been considered as centrally mediated activities, because an intracerebroventricular injection requires a 100- to 1,000-fold lower dose of IL-1 than the peripheral injection to elicit the same responses (17). However, IL-1 receptors are widely expressed throughout the body, and the target of IL-1 activity along the neuroimmune axis in different IL-1-mediated effects is still poorly understood. New biologic tools, such as tissue-specific overexpression or deficiency of the IL-1ra gene, would be valuable in this research.

Here we describe the generation of transgenic mice with astrocyte-directed expression of hsIL-1ra under the control of the GFAP promoter. The antagonist property of IL-1ra has been exploited in studies on effects exerted by IL-1 agonists at IL-1 receptors. The human form of the IL-1ra binds to mIL-1Rs with high affinity and has commonly been used to block IL-1alpha - and IL-1beta -induced responses in rodents (9, 23). A large molar excess of the IL-1ra is required to block the IL-1alpha - and IL-1beta -mediated biologic activities (8), since the affinities of the agonist and antagonist are not significantly different and since a very low degree of receptor occupancy with the agonist is sufficient to evoke an IL-1 response. Given the widespread distribution of IL-1 receptors in the brain (6, 11, 33, 34) and the large excess of IL-1ra required to block IL-1alpha - and IL-1beta -induced biologic responses (23), we decided to use the GFAP promoter to drive a strong and constitutive expression of the hsIL-1ra (3, 13, 27, 36). We have characterized two GFAP-hsIL-1ra (GILRA) lines: GILRA2 and GILRA4. The expression of hsIL-1ra was exclusively limited to the CNS in both lines, as investigated by RT-PCR and ELISA. The total amount of hsIL-1ra in cytosolic fractions prepared from whole brain homogenates was 50 ng/brain, which would correspond to ~2.5 nM hsIL-1ra, with the assumption of a mouse brain volume of 1 ml and an even distribution of the hsIL-1ra throughout the brain. In the hypothalamus, however, a brain structure believed to elicit IL-1-induced biologic activities such as the fever response, the expression of hsIL-1ra was about twice as high as in the whole brain. Unfortunately, we were not successful in our attempts to determine the cellular distribution of the hsIL-1ra by immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridization studies. However, cell extracts of primary astrocyte cultures derived from newborn transgenic mice were shown to contain hsIL-1ra, indicating an astrocyte-driven expression of hsIL-1ra. The presence of hsIL-1ra in astrocyte culture medium suggested that the hsIL-1ra was secreted, and this was further suggested by the occurrence of hsIL-1ra in CSF samples from the transgenic mice. The concentration of hsIL-1ra in the CSF samples was 1-2.5 nM, in close agreement with the estimated concentration of the hsIL-1ra in the total brain homogenates (~2.5 nM). In view of the suggested affinity constant for the sIL-1ra-type I IL-1 receptor interaction (0.15 nM) (9), an extracellular concentration of 1.0-2.5 nM of hsIL-1ra would indicate that most brain IL-1 receptors are occupied by the hsIL-1ra. However, this would rely on the assumption that hsIL-1ra is evenly distributed.

Neither developmental, physical, nor overt behavioral abnormalities were observed in the transgenic mice, suggesting that agonist occupancy of IL-1 receptors is not vitally important during development and that the primary role of IL-1ra is that of an anti-inflammatory cytokine during pathophysiological conditions. However, Hirsch and collaborators (16) recently reported that mice deficient in the IL-1ra gene lose weight from 6 wk of age, suggesting a physiological role of the IL-1ra in normal homeostasis. The same authors also produced mice with general overexpression of the IL-1ra gene. Those mice, in accordance with our central hsIL-1ra-overexpressing mice, did not show any weight abnormalities. This may suggest that IL-1ra occupancy of IL-1 receptors distinguishes the IL-1ra-deficient and IL-1ra-overexpressing mice in terms of body weight.

To analyze the hypothesis that central IL-1 receptors mediate LPS-induced physiological responses, LPS was injected intraperitoneally into the transgenic mice and their siblings. First, the occupancy of central IL-1 receptors by antagonist was assessed by means of an intracerebroventricular injection of IL-1beta . Accordingly, a central injection of IL-1beta was unable to trigger a fever in GILRA+ mice, suggesting that central IL-1 receptors were occupied by antagonist (Fig. 4A). Subsequently, the febrile response in GILRA mice after LPS challenge was studied (Fig. 4B); the GILRA mice were able to run fevers, although their central IL-1 receptors were occupied, suggesting that IL-1 binding to its receptors in the CNS is unimportant in intraperitoneal LPS fever, at least in mice. In fact, the transgenic mice exhibited a tendency toward a supersensitive fever in response to LPS compared with the wild-type mice. Our finding partly contradicts a previous study in the rat, where central injections of IL-1ra were able to block peripherally induced endotoxin fever (21).

Next, plasma levels of IL-1beta and IL-6 were measured, since LPS is known to increase peripheral levels of cytokines (26). No difference in serum levels of IL-6 or IL-1beta could be detected between GILRA and wild-type mice after a peripheral LPS challenge. These data are in line with experiments performed in rats where peripheral LPS-induced serum IL-6 levels were blocked with an intraperitoneal, but not an intracerebroventricular, injection of hsIL-1ra (21) and suggest that LPS triggers increases in plasma cytokines independent of central IL-1 receptor occupancy.

In summary, two transgenic mouse strains with CNS-specific expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine hsIL-1ra under the control of the murine GFAP promoter were developed (GILRA2 and GILRA4). Central injection of IL-1beta did not cause fever in these mice, suggesting a blockade of the central IL-1 receptors by hsIL-1ra. However, intraperitoneal injection of LPS resulted in a febrile response in the GILRA mice, suggesting that brain IL-1 receptors are not involved in the cytokine cascade in LPS fever.

Perspectives

It is conceivable that the GILRA mice will be useful tools in examining the contribution of centrally expressed IL-1 receptors in different physiological or pathophysiological processes, such as investigating the role of IL-1 in different CNS-associated diseases. IL-1 has been suggested to be one of the major proinflammatory cytokines responsible for the induction of inflammatory events in the CNS during trauma, ischemia, stroke, and neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease (25, 32, 39). Loddick and colleagues (20) recently presented evidence for a neuroprotective role of endogenously expressed IL-1ra. It will therefore be of value to study different disease models in the GILRA mice.


    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Prof. Urban Lendahl and Erik Nilsson, Marie-Louise Alun and colleagues, and Clas Johansson for generation of the transgenic strains, animal care, and isolation of CSF fluid, respectively.


    FOOTNOTES

This work was supported by the European Community Biomed II program CYBRAINET Grant CT97-2492, Swedish Medical Research Council, Loo and Hans Ostermans Foundation, Kapten Artur Erikssons Foundation and Stiftelsen Gamla Tjänarinnor.

J. Lundkvist and A. K. Sundgren-Andersson contributed equally to this work.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Address reprint requests to M. Schultzberg.

Received 26 May 1998; accepted in final form 19 October 1998.


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Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
Discussion
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Am J Physiol Regul Integr Compar Physiol 276(3):R644-R651
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