Premium
“Inflammaging” in the zebrafish visual system
Author(s) -
Moons L.,
Bollaerts I.,
Van houcke J.,
Vanhunsel S.,
Beckers A.,
Lemmens K.,
De Groef L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.03625
Subject(s) - zebrafish , neuroinflammation , regeneration (biology) , neuroscience , microglia , axon , biology , context (archaeology) , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , inflammation , immunology , genetics , paleontology , gene
Summary Appropriate modulation of neuroinflammation upon central nervous system ( CNS ) damage is known to trigger a regenerative response, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Zebrafish possess high regenerative abilities, yet, also gradually age. They are ideally suited to study the contribution of neuroinflammation to successful regeneration, also in an aging context. First, we followed the inflammatory response in fish subjected to optic nerve crush ( ONC ) and revealed a timed induction and resolution of microglia/macrophage (Mi/MΦ) activation. Next, both immunostimulatory/suppressive paradigms indicated that, as in mammals, axon regeneration is stimulated by an induced inflammatory response. Studies addressing Mi/MΦ activation and polarization state will provide further insights. In a second approach, we investigated whether an aged cellular environment affects neuronal survival/axonal regeneration. Detailed analyses in aged fish revealed altered numbers and distributions of Mi/MΦ, indicative of ‘ inflammaging ’, as well as a significant delay in axon outgrowth after ONC . Ongoing studies suggest phenotypic changes of senescent Mi/MΦ underlie this decelerated regeneration capacity in the aged zebrafish CNS .