Protection by tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tyrphostin AG126, through the suppression of IL-17A, RORγt, and T-bet signaling, in the BTBR mouse model of autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an extremely predominant neurodevelopmental disorder expressed as impairment in reciprocal social interaction along with repetitive, restricted, and stereotyped behaviors. The protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tyrphostin AG126 (AG126), regulates the expression of several genes that play an important role in the development of neuroinflammatory disorders. Here, we investigate the possible effects of AG126 (5 mg/kg daily through intraperitoneal injection) on self-grooming, marble burying, and hot plate test results in BTBR T + Itpr3tf/J mice (BTBR is a model of autism). We also explore the effects of AG126 administration on IL-17 A, RORγt, T-bet, and IFN-γ production in CD4+ T cells and on CCR6+ chemokine receptors in splenic cells. We further investigated the effect of AG126 administration on the mRNA and protein expression of IL-17 A, RORγt, T-bet, IFN-γ, and NF-κB in the brain tissue. Our results demonstrate that treatment of BTBR mice with AG126 reduced repetitive self-grooming scores and lowered hot plate sensitivity potentials. Furthermore, AG126 administration also caused a substantial reduction of IL-17 A, RORγt, T-bet, and IFN-γ production in CD4+ T cells and on CCR6+ chemokine receptors in splenic cells. BTBR mice treated with AG126 also show decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-17 A, RORγt, T-bet, IFN-γ, and NF-κB activation in brain tissue. Our results indicate that treating BTBR mice with AG126 leads to protection against neuroimmune dysfunction/dysregulation through the inhibition of cytokines and transcription factor signaling. This mechanism may be useful in the development of future therapies for neuroimmune disorders.

Ahmad SF ，Ansari MA ，Nadeem A ，Bakheet SA ，Alshammari MA ，Attia SM ... -  《-》

Adenosine A2A receptor modulates neuroimmune function through Th17/retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) signaling in a BTBR T(+) Itpr3(tf)/J mouse model of autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormal social interactions, repetitive behaviors that impair social communication, and circumscribed interests. BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) inbred mice are generally used as a model for ASD, as they show repetitive behaviors and social deficits that resemble signs of ADS in humans. Adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs) are considered as potential targets in the treatment of immune, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of the A2A adenosine receptor (A2AR) antagonist SCH 5826 (SCH) and agonist CGS 21680 (CGS) on behavior (self-grooming), hot plate test results, and expression levels of IL-17A+, RORγt+, Foxp3+, and IL-10+ in CD4+ T spleen cells in BTBR and C57BL/6 (B6) mice. We also assessed IL-17A, RORγt, Stat3, pStat3, Foxp3, and IL-10 mRNA and protein expression levels in the brain tissue. The CGS-treated mice showed a significantly altered self-grooming score and a reduced response to the hot plate test. The results further revealed that the SCH efficiently increased the IL-17A+ and RORγt+ expression levels and decreased the Foxp3+ and IL-10+ expression levels in CD4+ cells. However, the treatment with CGS significantly reversed these effects. In addition, CGS significantly decreased the IL-17A, RORγt, Stat3, and pStat3 levels and increased the Foxp3 and IL-10 mRNA and protein expression levels as compared with the BTBR control and SCH treatments. Our results clearly indicate that the CGS A2AR agonist may represent a unique target for future therapeutic strategies for neuroimmune dysfunction.

Ansari MA ，Nadeem A ，Attia SM ，Bakheet SA ，Raish M ，Ahmad SF ... -  《-》

Adenosine A2A receptor signaling affects IL-21/IL-22 cytokines and GATA3/T-bet transcription factor expression in CD4(+) T cells from a BTBR T(+) Itpr3tf/J mouse model of autism.

Autism is a complex heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder; previous studies have identified altered immune responses among individuals diagnosed with autism. An imbalance in the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and transcription factors plays a role in neurodevelopmental behavioral and autism disorders. BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice are used as a model for autism, as they exhibit social deficits, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors compared with C57BL/6J (B6) mice. The adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) appears to be a potential target for the improvement of behavioral, inflammatory, immune, and neurological disorders. We investigated the effects of the A2AR antagonist SCH 5826 (SCH) and agonist CGS 21680 (CGS) on IL-21, IL-22, T-bet, T-box transcription factor (T-bet), GATA3 (GATA Binding Protein 3), and CD152 (CTLA-4) expression in BTBR mice. Our results showed that BTBR mice treated with SCH had increased CD4+IL-21+, CD4+IL-22+, CD4+GATA3+, and CD4+T-bet+ and decreased CD4+CTLA-4+ expression in spleen cells compared with BTBR control mice. Moreover, CGS efficiently decreased CD4+IL-21+, CD4+IL-22+, CD4+GATA3+, and CD4+T-bet+ and increased CD4+CTLA-4 production in spleen cells compared with SCH-treated and BTBR control mice. Additionally, SCH treatment significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-21, IL-22, GATA3, and T-bet in brain tissue compared with CGS-treated and BTBR control mice. The augmented levels of IL-21/IL-22 and GATA3/T-bet could be due to altered A2AR signaling. Our results indicate that A2AR agonists may represent a new class of compounds that can be developed for use in the treatment of autistic and neuroimmune dysfunctions.

Ahmad SF ，Ansari MA ，Nadeem A ，Bakheet SA ，Almutairi MM ，Attia SM ... -  《-》

Inhibition of tyrosine kinase signaling by tyrphostin AG126 downregulates the IL-21/IL-21R and JAK/STAT pathway in the BTBR mouse model of autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a broad range of neurodevelopmental disorders that are associated with deficits in social interaction and communication. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor tyrphostin AG126 represents a promising therapeutic agent for several neuroinflammatory disorders. There are currently no treatments available that can improve ASD and we previously showed that AG126 treatment exerts beneficial effects on BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice, a model for autism that shows the core features of ASD; however, the immunological mechanisms and molecular targets associated with this effect were previously unclear. This study was undertaken to delineate the neuroprotective effect of AG126 on BTBR mice. Here, using this mouse model, we investigated the effects of AG126 administration on IL-21R, IL-21, IL-22, TNF-α, NOS2, STAT3, IL-27, and Foxp3 production by CD8+ T cells in the spleen by flow cytometry. We further explored the mRNA and protein expression of IL-21, IL-22, IL-1β, TNF-α, NOS2, JAK1, STAT3, IL-27, and Foxp3 in brain tissue by RT-PCR, and western blotting. We found that BTBR mice treated with AG126 exhibited significant decreases in IL-21R-, IL-21-, IL-22-, TNF-α-, NOS2-, STAT3-producing, and increases in IL-27- and Foxp3-producing, CD8+ T cells. Our results further demonstrated that AG126 treatment effectively decreased IL-21, IL-22, IL-1β, TNF-α, NOS2, JAK1, and STAT3, and increased IL-27 and Foxp3 mRNA and protein expression in brain tissues. Our findings suggest that AG126 elicits a neuroprotective response through downregulation of the IL-21/IL-21R and JAK/STAT pathway in BTBR mice, which could represent a promising novel therapeutic target for ASD treatment.

Ahmad SF ，Ansari MA ，Nadeem A ，Bakheet SA ，Alsanea S ，Al-Hosaini KA ，Mahmood HM ，Alzahrani MZ ，Attia SM ... -  《-》

Resveratrol Improves Neuroimmune Dysregulation Through the Inhibition of Neuronal Toll-Like Receptors and COX-2 Signaling in BTBR T(+) Itpr3(tf)/J Mice.

Ahmad SF ，Ansari MA ，Nadeem A ，Alzahrani MZ ，Bakheet SA ，Attia SM ... -  《-》