Tisi Annamaria, Scipioni Lucia, Carozza Giulia, Di Re Lucia, Cimino Giacomo, Di Meo Camilla, Palaniappan Sakthimala, Valle Francesco Della, Fanti Federico, Giacovazzo Giacomo, Compagnone Dario, Maccarone Rita, Oddi Sergio, Maccarrone Mauro
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
Laboratory of Lipid Neurochemistry, European Center for Brain Research (CERC), Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
J Neurochem. 2025 Feb;169(2):e16256. doi: 10.1111/jnc.16256. Epub 2024 Nov 18.
Extra-cerebral manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) develop in the retina, which is, therefore, considered a "window to the brain". Recent studies demonstrated the dysregulation of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system (ECS) in AD brain. Here, we explored the possible alterations of ECS and the onset of gliosis in the retina of AD-like mice. Tg2576 (TG) mice overexpressing the amyloid precursor protein (APP) were used at the age of 12 months, when hippocampal β-amyloid plaques had not been developed yet. Analysis of retinal gliosis showed a significant increase in the number of IBA1 (+) microglia cells in TG versus wild type (WT). Gliosis was not associated with retinal β-amyloid plaques, evident retinal degenerative signatures, or excitotoxicity; instead, oxidative stress burden was observed as increased acrolein levels. Analysis of the ECS (receptors/metabolic enzymes) through western blotting (WB) revealed the up-regulation of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), the enzyme responsible for the degradation of 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), in TG retinas. Fluorescence intensity analysis of anti-CB and anti-MAGL immuno-stained cryosections was consistent with WB, showing their up-regulation throughout the retinal layers. No statistically significant differences were found for the other enzymes/receptors of the ECS under study. However, linear regression analysis for individual animals showed a significant correlation between CB and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), diacylglycerol lipase α/β (DAGLα/β), and APP; instead, a significant negative correlation was found between MAGL and APP. Finally, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) demonstrated a significant reduction of 2-AG in TG retinas (0.34 ng/mg) compared to WT (1.70 ng/mg), while a trend toward increase was found for the other eCB anandamide (AEA). Overall, our data indicate that gliosis and ECS dysregulation-in particular of CB, MAGL and 2-AG-occur in the retina of AD-like mice before retinal degeneration and development of hippocampal β-amyloid plaques.
阿尔茨海默病(AD)的脑外表现出现在视网膜中,因此视网膜被视为“大脑的窗口”。最近的研究表明,AD大脑中的内源性大麻素(eCB)系统(ECS)失调。在此,我们探讨了AD样小鼠视网膜中ECS的可能改变以及神经胶质增生的发生情况。12月龄时使用过表达淀粉样前体蛋白(APP)的Tg2576(TG)小鼠,此时海马β-淀粉样斑块尚未形成。视网膜神经胶质增生分析显示,与野生型(WT)相比,TG小鼠中IBA1(+)小胶质细胞数量显著增加。神经胶质增生与视网膜β-淀粉样斑块、明显的视网膜退行性特征或兴奋性毒性无关;相反,观察到氧化应激负担增加,丙烯醛水平升高。通过蛋白质免疫印迹法(WB)对ECS(受体/代谢酶)进行分析,结果显示TG视网膜中大麻素受体2(CB)和单酰甘油脂肪酶(MAGL,负责降解2-花生四烯酸甘油酯(2-AG)的酶)上调。抗CB和抗MAGL免疫染色冰冻切片的荧光强度分析结果与WB一致,显示它们在整个视网膜层中均上调。在所研究的ECS的其他酶/受体方面未发现统计学上的显著差异。然而,对个体动物的线性回归分析显示,CB与脂肪酸酰胺水解酶(FAAH)、二酰甘油脂肪酶α/β(DAGLα/β)和APP之间存在显著相关性;相反,MAGL与APP之间存在显著负相关。最后,超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法(UPLC-MS/MS)显示,与WT(约1.70 ng/mg)相比,TG视网膜中2-AG显著减少(约0.34 ng/mg),而另一种内源性大麻素花生四烯乙醇胺(AEA)则呈增加趋势。总体而言,我们的数据表明,在视网膜变性和海马β-淀粉样斑块形成之前,AD样小鼠视网膜中就出现了神经胶质增生和ECS失调,尤其是CB、MAGL和2-AG的失调。