Abstract
Microglial activation participates in the pathogenesis of various neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. However, mechanisms by which microglial activation could be controlled are poorly understood. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor super family with diverse effect. This study underlines the importance of PPARβ/δ in mediating the anti-inflammatory effect of gemfibrozil, an FDA-approved lipid-lowering drug, in primary human microglia. Bacterial lipopolysachharides (LPS) induced the expression of various proinflammatory molecules and upregulated the expression of microglial surface marker CD11b in human microglia. However, gemfibrozil markedly suppressed proinflammatory molecules and CD11b in LPS-stimulated microglia. Human microglia expressed PPAR-β and -γ, but not PPAR-α. Interestingly, either antisense knockdown of PPAR-β or antagonism of PPAR-β by a specific chemical antagonist abrogated gemfibrozil-mediated inhibition of microglial activation. On the other hand, blocking of PPAR-α and -γ had no effect on gemfibrozil-mediated anti-inflammatory effect in microglia. These results highlight the fact that gemfibrozil regulates microglial activation by inhibiting inflammatory gene expression in a PPAR-β dependent pathway and further reinforce its therapeutic application in several neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asayama K, Sandhir R, Sheikh FG, Hayashibe H, Nakane T, Singh I (1999) Increased peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation and enhanced expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha in diabetic rat liver. Mol Cell Biochem 194:227–234
Banati RB, Gehrmann J, Schubert P, Kreutzberg GW (1993) Cytotoxicity of microglia. Glia 7:111–118
Berger J, Leibowitz MD, Doebber TW et al (1999) Novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma and PPARdelta ligands produce distinct biological effects. J Biol Chem 274:6718–6725
Bishop-Bailey D (2000) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in the cardiovascular system. Br J Pharmacol 129:823–834
Brahmachari S, Jana A, Pahan K (2009) Sodium benzoate, a metabolite of cinnamon and a food additive, reduces microglial and astroglial inflammatory responses. J Immunol 183:5917–5927
Buchan KW, Hassall DG (2000) PPAR agonists as direct modulators of the vessel wall in cardiovascular disease. Med Res Rev 20:350–366
Cimini A, Bernardo A, Cifone MG, Di Marzio L, Di Loreto S (2003) TNFalpha downregulates PPAR delta expression in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells: implications for demyelinating diseases. Glia 41:3–14
Dasgupta S, Jana M, Liu X, Pahan K (2003) Role of very-late antigen-4 (VLA-4) in myelin basic protein-primed T cell contact-induced expression of proinflammatory cytokines in microglial cells. J Biol Chem 278:22424–22431
Dasgupta S, Jana M, Zhou Y, Fung YK, Ghosh S, Pahan K (2004) Antineuroinflammatory effect of NF-kappaB essential modifier-binding domain peptides in the adoptive transfer model of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. J Immunol 173:1344–1354
Dasgupta S, Roy A, Jana M, Hartley DM, Pahan K (2007) Gemfibrozil ameliorates relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis independent of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha. Mol Pharmacol 72:934–946
Delerive P, De Bosscher K, Besnard S et al (1999) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha negatively regulates the vascular inflammatory gene response by negative cross-talk with transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1. J Biol Chem 274:32048–32054
Desvergne B, Wahli W (1999) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: nuclear control of metabolism. Endocr Rev 20:649–688
Di Loreto S, D’Angelo B, D’Amico MA et al (2007) PPAR beta agonists trigger neuronal differentiation in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. J Cell Physiol 211:837–847
El Khoury J, Hickman SE, Thomas CA, Loike JD, Silverstein SC (1998) Microglia, scavenger receptors, and the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging 19:S81–S84
Forman BM, Chen J, Evans RM (1997) Hypolipidemic drugs, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and eicosanoids are ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha and delta. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:4312–4317
Gelman BB (1993) Diffuse microgliosis associated with cerebral atrophy in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Ann Neurol 34:65–70
Ghosh S (1999) Regulation of inducible gene expression by the transcription factor NF-kappaB. Immunol Res 19:183–189
Ghosh S, Hayden MS (2008) New regulators of NF-kappaB in inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol 8:837–848
Gocke AR, Hussain RZ, Yang Y et al (2009) Transcriptional modulation of the immune response by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-{alpha} agonists in autoimmune disease. J Immunol 182:4479–4487
Hall MG, Quignodon L, Desvergne B (2008) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta/delta in the brain: facts and hypothesis. PPAR Res 2008:780452
Horvath RJ, Nutile-McMenemy N, Alkaitis MS, Deleo JA (2008) Differential migration, LPS-induced cytokine, chemokine, and NO expression in immortalized BV-2 and HAPI cell lines and primary microglial cultures. J Neurochem 107:557–569
Hsu HC, Lee YT, Yeh HT, Chen MF (2001) Effect of gemfibrozil on the composition and oxidation properties of very-low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. J Lab Clin Med 137:414–421
Jana A, Pahan K (2004) Fibrillar amyloid-beta peptides kill human primary neurons via NADPH oxidase-mediated activation of neutral sphingomyelinase. Implications for Alzheimer’s disease. J Biol Chem 279:51451–51459
Jana M, Jana A, Liu X, Ghosh S, Pahan K (2007) Involvement of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-mediated up-regulation of I kappa B alpha in anti-inflammatory effect of gemfibrozil in microglia. J Immunol 179:4142–4152
Jana M, Jana A, Pal U, Pahan K (2007) A simplified method for isolating highly purified neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia from the same human fetal brain tissue. Neurochem Res 32:2015–2022
Jana M, Liu X, Koka S, Ghosh S, Petro TM, Pahan K (2001) Ligation of CD40 stimulates the induction of nitric-oxide synthase in microglial cells. J Biol Chem 276:44527–44533
Jana M, Pahan K (2005) Redox regulation of cytokine-mediated inhibition of myelin gene expression in human primary oligodendrocytes. Free Radic Biol Med 39:823–831
Jana M, Pahan K (2009) IL-12 p40 homodimer, but not IL-12 p70, induces the expression of IL-16 in microglia and macrophages. Mol Immunol 46:773–783
Jana M, Pahan K (2009) Induction of lymphotoxin-alpha by interleukin-12 p40 homodimer, the so-called biologically inactive molecule, but not IL-12 p70. Immunology 127:312–325
Kelly D, Campbell JI, King TP, Grant G, Jansson EA, Coutts AG, Pettersson S, Conway S (2004) Commensal anaerobic gut bacteria attenuate inflammation by regulating nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of PPAR-gamma and RelA. Nat Immunol 5:104–112
Lee CH, Chawla A, Urbiztondo N, Liao D, Boisvert WA, Evans RM, Curtiss LK (2003) Transcriptional repression of atherogenic inflammation: modulation by PPAR delta. Science 302:453–457
Lee YB, Nagai A, Kim SU (2002) Cytokines, chemokines, and cytokine receptors in human microglia. J Neurosci Res 69:94–103
Lemberger T, Desvergne B, Wahli W (1996) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: a nuclear receptor signaling pathway in lipid physiology. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 12:335–363
Li M, Pascual G, Glass CK (2000) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-dependent repression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene. Mol Cell Biol 20:4699–4707
Li Z, Wang X, Yu RY, Ding BB, Yu JJ, Dai XM, Naganuma A, Stanley ER, Ye BH (2005) BCL-6 negatively regulates expression of the NF-kappaB1 p105/p50 subunit. J Immunol 174:205–214
Liu X, Jana M, Dasgupta S, Koka S, He J, Wood C, Pahan K (2002) Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) tat induces nitric-oxide synthase in human astroglia. J Biol Chem 277:39312–39319
Lovett-Racke AE, Hussain RZ, Northrop S et al (2004) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha agonists as therapy for autoimmune disease. J Immunol 172:5790–5798
McGeer EG, Singh EA, McGeer PL (1992) Apparent anterograde transport of basic fibroblast growth factor in the rat nigrostriatal dopamine system. Neurosci Lett 148:31–33
McGeer PL, Kawamata T, Walker DG, Akiyama H, Tooyama I, McGeer EG (1993) Microglia in degenerative neurological disease. Glia 7:84–92
McGeer PL, McGeer EG (1995) The inflammatory response system of brain: implications for therapy of Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases. Brain Res Rev 21:195–218
Moreno S, Farioli-Vecchioli S, Ceru MP (2004) Immunolocalization of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and retinoid × receptors in the adult rat CNS. Neuroscience 123:131–145
Pahan K, Jana M, Liu X, Taylor BS, Wood C, Fischer SM (2002) Gemfibrozil, a lipid-lowering drug, inhibits the induction of nitric-oxide synthase in human astrocytes. J Biol Chem 277:45984–45991
Polak PE, Kalinin S, Dello Russo C et al (2005) Protective effects of a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-beta/delta agonist in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. J Neuroimmunol 168:65–75
Ricote M, Glass CK (2007) PPARs and molecular mechanisms of transrepression. Biochim Biophys Acta 1771:926–935
Roy A, Fung YK, Liu X, Pahan K (2006) Up-regulation of microglial CD11b expression by nitric oxide. J Biol Chem 281:14971–14980
Rubins HB, Robins SJ, Collins D et al (1999) Gemfibrozil for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in men with low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Veterans affairs high-density lipoprotein cholesterol intervention trial study group. N Engl J Med 341:410–418
Saha RN, Jana M, Pahan K (2007) MAPK p38 regulates transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB in primary human astrocytes via acetylation of p65. J Immunol 179:7101–7109
Saluja I, Granneman JG, Skoff RP (2001) PPAR delta agonists stimulate oligodendrocyte differentiation in tissue culture. Glia 33:191–204
Shi Y, Hon M, Evans RM (2002) The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, an integrator of transcriptional repression and nuclear receptor signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:2613–2618
Straus DS, Glass CK (2001) Cyclopentenone prostaglandins: new insights on biological activities and cellular targets. Med Res Rev 21:185–210
Takata Y, Liu J, Yin F et al (2008) PPARdelta-mediated antiinflammatory mechanisms inhibit angiotensin II-accelerated atherosclerosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:4277–4282
Thomas WE (1992) Brain macrophages: evaluation of microglia and their functions. Brain Res Rev 17:61–74
Walker DG, Kim SU, McGeer PL (1995) Complement and cytokine gene expression in cultured microglial derived from postmortem human brains. J Neurosci Res 40:478–493
Walsh DT, Bresciani L, Saunders D, Manca MF, Jen A, Gentleman SM, Jen LS (2005) Amyloid beta peptide causes chronic glial cell activation and neuro-degeneration after intravitreal injection. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 31:491–502
Woods JW, Tanen M, Figueroa DJ, Biswas C, Zycband E, Moller DE, Austin CP, Berger JP (2003) Localization of PPARdelta in murine central nervous system: expression in oligodendrocytes and neurons. Brain Res 975:10–21
Xie QW, Kashiwabara Y, Nathan C (1994) Role of transcription factor NF-kappa B/Rel in induction of nitric oxide synthase. J Biol Chem 269:4705–4708
Xu J, Chavis JA, Racke MK, Drew PD (2006) Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and retinoid × receptor agonists inhibit inflammatory responses of astrocytes. J Neuroimmunol 176:95–105
Xu J, Storer PD, Chavis JA, Racke MK, Drew PD (2005) Agonists for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and the retinoid × receptor inhibit inflammatory responses of microglia. J Neurosci Res 81:403–411
Zhao SP, Ye HJ, Zhou HN, Nie S, Li QZ (2003) Gemfibrozil reduces release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy subjects and patients with coronary heart disease. Clin Chim Acta, Int J Clin Chem 332:61–67
Zuo X, Wu Y, Morris JS, Stimmel JB, Leesnitzer LM, Fischer SM, Lippman SM, Shureiqi I (2006) Oxidative metabolism of linoleic acid modulates PPAR-beta/delta suppression of PPAR-gamma activity. Oncogene 25:1225–1241
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants from National Institutes of Health (AT6681, NS64564 and NS71479) to Kalipada Pahan and National Multiple Sclerosis Society (RG4170-A-1) to Malabendu Jana.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jana, M., Pahan, K. Gemfibrozil, a Lipid Lowering Drug, Inhibits the Activation of Primary Human Microglia Via Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor β. Neurochem Res 37, 1718–1729 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0781-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0781-6