Mild Inflammatory Profile without Gliosis in the c-Rel Deficient Mouse Modeling a Late-Onset Parkinsonism.

The impact of neuroinflammation and microglial activation to Parkinson's disease (PD) progression is still debated. Post-mortem analysis of PD brains has shown that neuroinflammation and microgliosis are key features of end-stage disease. However, microglia neuroimaging studies and evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokines in PD patients at earlier stages do not support the occurrence of a pronounced neuroinflammatory process. PD animal models recapitulating the motor and non-motor features of the disease, and the slow and progressive neuropathology, can be of great advantage in understanding whether and how neuroinflammation associates with the onset of symptoms and neuronal loss. We recently described that 18-month-old NF-κB/c-Rel deficient mice (c-rel) develop a spontaneous late-onset PD-like phenotype encompassing L-DOPA-responsive motor impairment, nigrostriatal neuron degeneration, α-synuclein and iron accumulation. To assess whether inflammation and microglial activation accompany the onset and the progression of PD-like pathology, we investigated the expression of cytokines () and microglial/macrophage activation markers (), together with microglial ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1) and astrocyte glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunolabeling, in the substantia nigra (SN) of c-rel mice, at premotor (4- and 13-month-old) and motor phases (18-month-old). By quantitative real-time RT-PCR we found increased M2c microglial/macrophage markers expression ( and ) in 4-month-old c-rel mice. M2-type transcription dropped down in 13-month-old c-rel mice. At this age, the pro-inflammatory , but not or the microglia-macrophage M1-polarization marker /CD16, increased when compared to wild-type (wt). Furthermore, no significant variation in the transcription of inflammatory and microglial/macrophage activation genes was present in 18-month-old c-rel mice, that display motor dysfunctions and dopaminergic neuronal loss. Immunofluorescence analysis of Iba1-positive cells in the SN revealed no sign of overt microglial activation in c-rel mice at all the time-points. MRC1-Iba1-positive cells were identified as non-parenchymal macrophages in 4-month-old c-rel mice. Finally, no sign of astrogliosis was detected in the SN of the diverse animal groups. In conclusion, this study supports the presence of a mild inflammatory profile without evident signs of gliosis in c-rel mice up to 18 months of age. It suggests that symptomatic PD-like phenotype can develop in the absence of concomitant severe inflammatory process.