Neonatal microglia transplantation at early stage but not late stage after traumatic brain injury shows protective effects in mice

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology 2024-04, Vol.131 (4), p.598-606
• Main Authors: Chen, Maosong, Wang, Hongcai, Chen, Pandi, Zhu, Guangyao, Li, Shiwei, Li, Zengpan, Liu, Xuelan, Ye, Gengfan, Chen, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-3077; 1522-1598; 1522-1598
• DOI: 10.1152/jn.00006.2024

The transplantation of neonatal microglia suppresses neuroinflammation caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). This research aimed to explore the optimal time point of neonatal microglia transplantation for the best effect on the improvement of long-term cognitive function and inflammatory response in mouse models. qPCR and immunoblotting showed that the level of Iba1 gradually increased to the highest on and then gradually declined in TBI mice. Furthermore, it was observed that the level of CD86 and TNF-α increased to the highest after 7 days and subsequently was maintained until , whereas the level of CD206 and IL-10 increased to the highest after 24 h and subsequently decreased until by qPCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Afterward, it was shown that the neonatal microglia transplantation within 1 h significantly attenuated anxiety-like behavior and improved cognitive impairments in TBI mice. Mechanism exploration showed that the neonatal microglia could significantly decrease the level of cleaved caspase-3, M1/M2 polarization, and inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α) while increasing the level of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 in TBI mice after transplantation within 1 h. Here, our findings demonstrated that neonatal microglia transplantation within 1 h significantly attenuated anxiety-like behavior and cognitive impairments caused by TBI. The study demonstrated that neonatal microglia transplantation within 1 h significantly inhibited the pathogenesis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mouse models through inhibition of M1 polarization and promotion of M2 polarization.