Microglial 5-LOX-activating protein antagonism alleviates leukotriene-driven neuroinflammationAmsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neurosci, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam Inst Immunol & Infect Dis, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Amsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neurosci, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Locat VU Med Ctr, Amsterdam UMC, MS Ctr Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Amsterdam UMC, Lab Genet Metab Dis, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Core Facil Metabol, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ Maastricht, Cardiovasc Res Inst, Dept Biochem, Maastricht, Netherlands.
Amsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Amsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neurosci, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Locat VU Med Ctr, Amsterdam UMC, MS Ctr Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Leiden Univ, Med Ctr LUMC, Ctr Prote & Metabol, Leiden, Netherlands.
Friedrich Schiller Univ, Inst Pharm, Dept Pharmaceut Med Chem, Jena, Germany; Friedrich Schiller Univ Jena, Jena Ctr Soft Matter JCSM, Jena, Germany.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Amsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neurosci, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Locat VU Med Ctr, Amsterdam UMC, MS Ctr Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Univ MS Ctr Hasselt, Pelt, Belgium.
Amsterdam UMC Locat Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Mol Cell Biol & Immunol, Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neurosci, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Locat VU Med Ctr, Amsterdam UMC, MS Ctr Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Inst Immunol & Infect Dis, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Show others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Acta Neuropathologica, ISSN 0001-6322, E-ISSN 1432-0533, Vol. 152, no 1, article id 16Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In multiple sclerosis (MS), the chronic, unresolved nature of neuroinflammation within the central nervous system (CNS) remains a major obstacle for effective therapeutic intervention. This challenge arises primarily due to an incomplete understanding of the dysregulated inflammatory and pro-resolving pathways underlying MS lesion progression. Bioactive lipid mediators (LMs), biosynthesized through the coordinated actions of specific enzymes like lipoxygenases (LOX) and cyclooxygenases (COX), are key regulators of both the initiation and resolution of an inflammatory response; however, their spatial organization and functional role during MS pathology have not been fully elucidated. Here, by using pneumatically assisted nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (PA nano-DESI) mass spectrometry imaging and immunohistochemistry, we reveal an increase in the LM leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in human MS white matter compared to controls, with further enrichment in MS lesions relative to perilesional areas, alongside elevated microglial 5-LOX activating protein (FLAP) expression. Pharmacological antagonism of FLAP suppresses LTB4 biosynthesis in human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia with only marginal effects on the microglia transcriptional phenotype as determined by RNA sequencing. Moreover, in vivo FLAP antagonism ameliorates disease severity and spinal cord inflammatory gene expression in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, an animal model of MS, in both a prophylactic and therapeutic settings. This coincided with reduced local LTB4 biosynthesis and reduced levels of inflammatory monocytes within the spinal cord during EAE. Together these findings establish the FLAP/LTB4 axis as a driver of neuroinflammation and a druggable therapeutic target for chronic inflammatory CNS disorders like MS.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2026. Vol. 152, no 1, article id 16
Keywords [en]
Multiple sclerosis, Leukotriene B, 5-Lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP), PA nano-DESI MSI, Lipidomics, Neuroinflammation, Microglia, Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)
National Category
Neurosciences Neurology Cell and Molecular Biology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-596114DOI: 10.1007/s00401-026-03055-wISI: 001839773600001PubMedID: 42550249Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105046522144OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-596114DiVA, id: diva2:2094055
Part of project
Analytical developments to map isomers of oxidized molecules in tissue, Swedish Research CouncilChemical mechanisms of Life, Swedish Research Council
Funder
EU, European Research Council, 101041224-X-CELLEU, Horizon 2020, 8132942026-08-202026-08-202026-08-20Bibliographically approved