Anatomy and Neuroscience - Theses

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    The role of the TAM receptors in CNS myelination and demyelination
    Akkermann, Rainer ( 2015)
    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The TAM family of receptor-tyrosine kinases, comprising Tyro3, Axl and Mertk, is widely expressed in the CNS and has been shown to be critical in the outcome of both toxin-induced, as well as inflammatory demyelination. In addition, previous work has demonstrated a direct impact of Gas6-mediated TAM signalling in the regulation of myelination. However, our understanding of the contributions of each individual receptor in these processes remains poor. In order to potentially utilise TAM receptor functions in the development of new therapeutics, it is of crucial importance to dissect these contributions as pan activation of all three receptors may have undesired off-target effects. The aim of this thesis was therefore to provide further insight into which TAM receptor transduces the pro-myelinating effects of Gas6 and which receptors may be important in limiting demyelination. Using electron microscopy, I found that while deletion of Gas6 only results in a mild, non-statistically significant reduction in developmental myelination, Tyro3 deficiency significantly impairs initiation of this process. In vitro data suggest that Tyro3 expressed on oligodendrocytes is required for normal myelination and that this receptor is required for Gas6-mediated enhancement of myelination. Oligodendrocytes deficient in Tyro3 display a reduction in the activation of Erk1, a signalling molecule involved in the induction of myelin gene expression, suggesting that the effects of Tyro3 upon myelination may be mediated at least in part by Erk1. I also could demonstrate that Tyro3 deficiency alone is not sufficient to significantly alter cuprizone-induced demyelination. This is also true for heterozygous microglia-specific Mertk deletion, indicating that homozygous deletion may be required to unravel potential effects of this receptor in experimental demyelination. Finally, injection of Axl or Mertk activating antibodies did not alter EAE disease course which may have been due to detrimental effects probably caused by antibody-mediated hyperactivation of the immune system. In summary, the data presented in this thesis describe for the first time that Tyro3 is a regulator of CNS myelination and that this is regulated by its expression on oligodendrocytes, possibly to an extent through Erk1 activation. Neither Tyro3 deletion nor partial deletion of Mertk in microglia alone affected cuprizone-induced demyelination. Finally, my findings suggest that TAM activating antibodies may not be ideal for therapeutic activation of these receptors in inflammatory conditions.
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    TAM signalling in CNS demyelination and multiple sclerosis
    MA, ZHI-MING ( 2015)
    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Involvement of the immune system in the pathogenesis of MS is a key feature of the disease, and an understanding of the mechanisms underlying how immune responses are shaped during CNS demyelination will provide insight into the development of new therapeutic strategies. The TAM (Tyro3, Axl, Mertk) family of receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands Growth Arrest-Specific 6 (Gas6) and Protein S (ProS) have been shown to modulate many immunological processes important during central demyelination. The major aim of this thesis is to provide further insight into TAM biology in the context of both an animal model of inflammatory demyelination and human MS. By conducting a study examining MS patients and common genetic variations within TAM genes, I identified the MERTK gene as a novel MS susceptibility gene. Examination of plasma from MS patients revealed that levels of the TAM ligand PROS are decreased in MS and that low PROS levels are associated with increased MS disease severity. To interrogate the role of TAM signalling in modulating disease severity during inflammatory demyelination, I used the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal model and observed major changes in TAM gene expression within the CNS and peripheral immune cells during EAE. Examination of Gas6-/- mice during EAE showed that absence of the TAM receptor ligand Gas6 results in both attenuated microglial/macrophage responses and disease severity during the effector phase of EAE. Conditional deletion of Mertk from dendritic cells (DC) resulted in worse disease during the effector phase of EAE. Stratification by sex revealed sexual dimorphism in TAM gene expression and also in the outcome of EAE in both Gas6-/- mice and mice with DC-specific deletion of Mertk. In summary, the data presented in this thesis suggest that the TAM family plays key roles in MS susceptibility and modulating innate immune responses during inflammatory demyelination, providing evidence for members of the TAM family as either markers of disease severity and/or therapeutic targets for the treatment of MS.