Alma Mater Studiorum Universit di Bologna

DOTTORATO DI RICERCA IN

BIOCHIMICA
Ciclo XXIV

Settore Concorsuale di afferenza: 05/E1

Settore Scientifico disciplinare: BIO/10

Neuroinflammation and the role of glia: relevance for

neurodegenerative and neurosupportive roles
Presentata da:

Elisa Motori

Coordinatore Dottorato

Relatore

Chiar. Prof.
Giorgio Lenaz

Chiar.ma Prof.ssa
Silvana Hrelia

Esame finale anno 2012

INDEX
ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Specific role of astrocytes in neuron-glia communication during

neuroinflammation

1.1

Astrocytes: the Kali of the brain

1.2

Astrocytes physiology

11

1.3

Mechanisms of neuroinflammation

14

1.4

Contribution of neuroinflammation to neuronal dysfunction

and degeneration
2

The autophagy-inflammation-mitochondria crosstalk

2.1

Autophagy

17
19

2.1.1

The autophagy core machinery

20

2.1.2

Deregulation of autophagy in diseases

22

2.2

16

Mitochondria: shaping the fate of cells

23

2.2.1

Molecular effectors orchestrating mitochondrial dynamics

24

2.2.2

Autophagy shapes mitochondria, or the other way round

26

Specific aims

29

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

30

30

Results
1.1.

Astrocytes respond to pro-inflammatory molecules by transiently

rearranging their mitochondria

1.2.

30

Inflammation-mediated changes of mitochondrial dynamics entail

reduced motility, fragmentation and clustering

1.3.

34

Fusion is impaired in the initial phases of mitochondrial

rearrangement

38

1.4.

Role played by nitric oxide in mitochondria remodeling during

inflammation

41

1.5.

Altered mitochondria produce high levels of ROS

43

1.6.

Autophagy is a key feature of inflamed astrocytes

45

1.7.

Autophagic markers co-localize with fragmented mitochondria:

mitochondria are fated to mitophagy during inflammation

1.8.

Inflammation triggers autophagy in astrocytes of cortical brain

slices

1.9.

47
51

Abolishment of the autophagic response results in accumulation

of hyperelongated mitochondria upon inflammation

54

1.10. Inflamed astrocytes mediate neuronal degeneration

61

Discussion

65

MATERIALS AND METHODS

71

Mice

71

Viral vectors

71

Cell cultures

71

Western blot

72

Immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry

72

Time-lapse video imaging

73

Cytofluorimetric evaluation of apoptosis and necrosis

74

ATP assay

74

Nitric oxide production

74

10 Slice preparation

75

11 Quantitative analysis

75

12 Statistical analysis

75

REFERENCES

77

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

89

ABSTRACT
Inflammation

is

thought

to

contribute

to

the

pathogenesis

of

neurodegenerative diseases. Among the resident population of cells in the brain,

astroglia have been suggested to actively participate in the induction and regulation
of neuroinflammation by controlling the secretion of local mediators. However, the
initial cellular mechanisms by which astrocytes react to pro-inflammatory molecules
are still unclear. Our study identified mitochondria as highly sensitive organelles that
rapidly respond to inflammatory stimuli. Time-lapse video microscopy revealed that
mitochondrial morphology, dynamics and motility are drastically altered upon
inflammation,

resulting

in

perinuclear

clustering

of

mitochondria.

These

mitochondrial rearrangements are accompanied by an increased formation of reactive

oxygen species and a recruitment of autophagic vacuoles. 24 to 48 hours after the
acute inflammatory stimulus, however, the mitochondrial network is re-established.
Strikingly, the recovery of a tubular mitochondrial network is abolished in astrocytes
with a defective autophagic response, indicating that activation of autophagy is
required to restore mitochondrial dynamics. By employing co-cultivation assays we
observed that primary cortical neurons undergo degeneration in the presence of
inflamed astrocytes. However, this effect was not observed when the primary
neurons were grown in conditioned medium derived from inflamed astrocytes,
suggesting that a direct contact between astrocytes and neurons mediates neuronal
dysfunction upon inflammation. Our results suggest that astrocytes react to
inflammatory stimuli by transiently rearranging their mitochondria, a process that
involves the autophagic machinery.
ormai assodato che la neuro infiammazione costituisce una caratteristica
comune a numerose patologie neurodegenerative. Tra le cellule gliali che mediano
la risposta infiammatoria nel sistema nervoso centrale, gli astrociti rivestono un
ruolo particolarmente importante in quanto, oltre a rispondere allo stimolo di
molecole pro-infiammatorie esogene o prodotte dalla stessa microglia attivata,

producono anche fattori di crescita e neurotrofine essenziali per la sopravvivenza

della cellula neuronale. Tuttavia, i meccanismi subcellulari che mediano la prima
risposta degli astrociti a stimoli pro-infiammatori non sono ben noti. I nostri dati
suggeriscono che i mitocondri sono uno dei primi target a rispondere
allinfiammazione. Come dimostrato da indagini di microscopia time-lapse,
linfiammazione induce alterazioni delle dinamiche e della morfologia mitocondriali,
con formazione di cluster mitocondriali perinucleari. Questi fenomeni sono
accompagnati da un incremento nella produzione di ROS e dallinduzione di
autofagia. Tuttavia le alterazioni sopra descritte sono transienti, dal momento esse si
risolvono nellarco di 24-48h. In particolare, la rimozione dellautofagia determina
limpossibilit da parte degli astrociti di ripristinare una corretta funzionalit
mitocondriale in seguito ad infiammazione, indice del fatto che lautofagia svolge un
ruolo-chiave nel quality control dei mitocondri in questo modello. Abbiamo inoltre
investigato gli effetti mediati dagli astrociti sulla vitalit neuronale in un sistema di
co-culture, e abbiamo osservato che linfiammazione induce neurotossicit: lo stesso
effetto viene a mancare se si effettua laggiunta di mezzo condizionato da astrociti
infiammati su colture pure di neuroni, suggerendo che nel nostro modello il contatto
diretto tra astrociti e neuroni fondamentale per indurre disfunzione neuronale a
seguito

di

infiammazione.

Nellinsieme,

questi

dati

sugggeriscono

che

linfiammazione induce alterazioni temporanee della funzionalit mitocondriali

associate ad autofagia.

INTRODUCTION
1

Specific role of astrocytes in neuron-glia communication during

neuroinflammation
Glial cells represent the most prominent population of cells residing in the

brain. They were first discovered by Rudolf Virchow in 1846, who named this
abundant population nervenkitten (glue, from the Greek name glia), but it was only
at the beginning of the 20th century that scientists started to identify in glial cells an
heterogenous population, particularly thanks to the contribution of Ramon y Cajal
and Rio Hortega, who identified microglia and oligodendrocytes by using metallic
impregnation of tissue samples (Wang and Bordey 2008). Starting from then,
microglia and oligodendrocytes have progressively acquired more importance among
the cells of the central nervous system (CNS), mostly due to their highly specialized
roles in exerting immune functions (microglia) and in myelinating axons of
projecting neurons (oligodendrocytes).
Importantly, a third type of glial cells, originally defined macroglia but
known with the name of astrocytes, constitute the most abundant fraction of cells
with a glial phenotype in the brain (80% of all glia), yet this population of cells has
long been neglected by scientists. Always described as the cement of the brain and
characterized by passive functions such as to provide a scaffold for the proper
positioning of developing neurons, astrocytes (and their counterpart in the peripheral
nervous system, the Schwann cells) gained significant attention only during the last
20 years, when it was first discovered that these cells do express voltage-gated
channels on their membrane (Bevan, Chiu et al. 1985). With time, it became clearer
that astrocytes actively cover important roles in neuronal functioning and
homeostasis: they are strategically positioned between neurons and blood vessels,
with their fine processes engulfing the neuronal synapses at one side and intimately
interacting with the walls of blood vessels at the other (astrocytic end-feet), in a

manner that morphologically reflects the unique capacity of these cells to directly
coordinate neuronal activity with the local signals released by non-neuronal cells. As
a consequence, it is not entirely surprising that astrocytes have been soon suggested
to play important roles in the pathogenesis of a variety of CNS disorders (Barres
2008), including widespread neurodegenerative diseases such as the Alzheimers and
Parkinsons diseases (Sofroniew and Vinters 2010). In this evolving scenario, the
question arises what is the precise contribution of glial cells, in particular of
astrocytes, to the initial phases of neurodegeneration or, rather, if astrocyes possess a
neuroprotective potential in this respect. Characterizing astrocytic reactivity and
behavior before, during and after the establishment of these diseases could open the
avenue to the discovery of new therapeutic approaches aimed to prevent - or restore neuronal viability and circuits function.
1.1

Astrocytes: the Kali of the brain

Talking about astrocytes, the first important issue - yet partially unsolved - is

what exactly defines a cell as astrocyte. In fact, for long time astrocytes have been
viewed as a homogenous population of cells characterized by a star-shaped
morphology contacting both neurons and blood vessels. The advent of mouse
genetics and of new tools based to the selective expression of fluorescent reporter
molecules driven by astrocytic-specific promoters (for instance the Glial Fibrillary
Acidic Protein, GFAP) (ref) (Nolte, Matyash et al. 2001) have dramatically
contributed to redefine the identity of astrocytes, in particular by revealing their
heterogeneity in morphology, antigenic phenotype, location and function.
Astrocytes can be classified in at least two different classes, depending on
their morphology and location, which also reflect differences in functions (Volterra
and Meldolesi 2005). The vast majority of astrocytes fall into the protoplasmic
phenotype (or type I), which is characterized by irregular morphology and very dense
branched processes: these astrocytes generally express GFAP and principally
populate the grey matter. A distinctive feature of these astrocytes is that their
processes ensheat synapses and neuronal cell bodies but they also possess end-feet
terminals which embrace blood vessels (Volterra and Meldolesi 2005). On the other

side, fibrillary (or fibrous or type II) astrocytes are commonly less immunoreactive
for GFAP, although they express the calcium binding protein S100 (as protoplasmic
astrocytes also do), and show a simpler morphology with thinner processes in
comparison with type I astrocytes. Type II astrocytes are much frequently observed
in the white matter, where they contact nodes of Ranvier. Curiously, protoplasmic
and fibrillary astrocytes also differ in their electrical properties (Table1) and for the
presence/absence of gap-junctions.

Protoplasmic

Fibrillary

low

high

Membrane potential

very negative

negative

Potassium currents

voltage and time-independent

voltage-dependent

different

low

Input resistance

Glutamate uptake

Table 1. Different electrical properties of astrocytes.

Besides these two main categories, dedicated types of astrocytes are present
in the retina (Mller glia) and cerebellum (Bergmann glia), regions in which they
support and modulate the functions of specialized local neurons (Hirrlinger,
Hulsmann et al. 2004). A last specialized type of astrocytes is present in those
restricted regions of the adult brain in which neurogenesis persists: the subependimal
zone of the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation
(Suh, Deng et al. 2009). In all these regions, astrocytes have been classically
identified by using morphology and marker expression profile. In particular, a widely
used marker for identifying and labeling astrocytes is the GFAP, which is very
strongly expressed in layer I of the cerebral cortex, in the hippocampus, in the
neurogenic areas and in the cerebellum (Fig. 1). Yet, by the moment these mature,
differentiated astrocytes (like those located in the cortex) exit from their usual resting
state, such as following injury (Sofroniew 2009), inflammation (Farina, Aloisi et al.
2007) or the insurgence of neurodegenerative diseases (Thal, Hartig et al. 1999),

GFAP becomes up-regulated and is thus also commonly used as a marker to identify
the so called reactive state of astrocytes (or reactive gliosis). For this reason, primary
cultures of astrocytes are typically very immunoreactive for GFAP, since after their
dissociation and growth in culture these cells frequently divide and maintain an
undifferentiated state compared to the in vivo situation.

Figure 1. Heterogeneity of GFAP positive cells with respect to their morphology and location.
Studies using transgenic mice expressing fluorescent protein driven by the GFAP promoter revealed

10

morphological and topological differences in the population of astroglial cells. This picture, taken
from (Nolte, Matyash et al. 2001), shows the extreme variability of GFAP positive cells.

In addition to GFAP, astrocytes in the CNS express a series of markers which

helps for their identification: S100 (calcium-binding protein) mostly labels the
astrocytic cytoplasm, whereas Glt-1 and GLAST (glutamate transporters) are
expressed in the membrane of astrocytes. However, caution should be used when
using these markers for classifying astrocytes. In fact, S100 immunoreactivity not
only labels a subtype of mature astrocytes, but it could be observed in Neurogenin 2
(NG2) expressing cells, which are commonly referred as oligodendrocytes precursors
(Nishiyama, Chang et al. 1999). Similarly, the glutamate transporter Glt-1 is not
exclusive for astrocytes, but can also label oligodendrocytes (D'Amelio, Eng et al.
1990). More recently, gene profile analysis has identified new astrocyte-specific
genes. Amongst them, Aldh1L1 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member L1)
possesses a wide range of expression in astrocytes in comparison to other markers
(Cahoy, Emery et al. 2008).
1.2

Astrocytes physiology
Typically, type I astrocytes (the most abundant in the cerebral cortex) display

a complex branching of their processes. Single-cell microinjection of a fluorescent

dye that can diffuse across gap-junctions has revealed that individual astrocytes
cover discrete territories with little or minimal overlap with adjacent astrocytes
(Bushong, Martone et al. 2002) (Fig. 2). This architectural arrangement has been
suggested to be theoretically ideal for maximizing the control exerted by astrocytes
over the thousands of synapses that are located within these small territories, a
function which appears to correlate with the high motility of astrocytic lamellipodia
and filopodia located at the tips of their processes (Hirrlinger, Hulsmann et al. 2004;
Nishida and Okabe 2007; Reichenbach, Derouiche et al. 2010; Lavialle, Aumann et
al. 2011). Classical studies of electron microscopy, in which ultra-thin sections of
tissue have been analyzed, revealed an intimate connection between these astrocytic

11

processes and single synapses (Bezzi, Gundersen et al. 2004; Halassa, Fellin et al.
2007) such that scientists have recently proposed the term tripartite synapse to
include astrocytes into the fundamental structure (the synapse) at the core of synaptic
transmission. During the last 10-15 years, numerous studies have clearly
demonstrated that this structural proximity is functional to the role of astrocytes
during synaptic transmission: these cells can indeed modulate, in various manners,
the excitability of neurons and their cellular state (Bezzi, Gundersen et al. 2004;
Halassa, Fellin et al. 2007; Hamilton and Attwell 2010). The importance of
astrocytes in this sense is such that a complete set of molecules is now part of the so
called class of gliotransmitters: as the name says, they are released by astrocytes
and can modulate the excitability of other cells as the neurotransmitters released by
neurons do (Volterra and Meldolesi 2005; Hamilton and Attwell 2010).

12

Figure 2. 3D view of astrocytes architecture. Single-cell microinjections of different dyes reveals

the discrete territories of astrocytes in vivo. Picture modified and taken from (Bushong, Martone et al.
2002)

Gliotransmitters comprise mediators such as ATP, glutamate, D-serine,

trophic factors and others (Volterra and Meldolesi 2005; Perea, Navarrete et al.
2009). Interestingly, all these molecules can potentially impact the functional state of
local synapses, and several demonstrations of such effects in astrocytes-neurons cocultures and in slice tissues have been convincingly provided (Pasti, Zonta et al.
2001; Yang, Ge et al. 2003; Fellin, Pascual et al. 2004; Pascual, Casper et al. 2005;
Perea and Araque 2007; Navarrete and Araque 2010; Santello, Bezzi et al. 2011;
Navarrete, Perea et al. 2012). But how exactly the secretion of gliotransmitters by
astrocytes is triggered, and what is their physiological role? A critical point regarding
this issue consists in the mode through which perisynaptic astrocytes sense the
ongoing neuronal activity and integrate this signal with those collected from the nonneuronal environment (extracellular space, blood vessels, ect.). Astrocytes are indeed
equipped with a full set of membrane receptors which allow them to signal following
synaptic release or spillover of classical neurotransmitters (glutamate or -amino
butyrric acid, GABA), purinergic mediators (Volterra and Meldolesi 2005) and
molecules associated with the inflammatory reaction (Glass, Saijo et al. 2010).
Intriguingly, the common mode by which astrocytes integrate the signaling pathways
initiated by these molecules is via modulation of local (at the level of single
processes) and global (cell body) transients of calcium (Ca++) (Araque, Carmignoto
et al. 2001; Di Castro, Chuquet et al. 2011), a mechanism which is as well employed
for astrocyte-astrocyte communication (astrocytic Ca++ waves) through gap-junctions
(Carmignoto 2000; Araque, Carmignoto et al. 2001; Kuga, Sasaki et al. 2011). In
turn, astrocytes respond to these transients by secreting gliotransmitters (in particular
glutamate) into the local environment, and therefore could modulate, in this manner,
the efficiency of synaptic transmission and synaptic homeostasis (Volterra and

13

Meldolesi 2005; Perea, Navarrete et al. 2009). These findings have led to the idea
that neuron-glia intercommunication is much more dynamic than previously
believed. In addition, there is now growing evidence that molecules linked to
inflammatory reactions, such as the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-)
and prostaglandins (Bezzi, Carmignoto et al. 1998; Santello, Bezzi et al. 2011),
which are likely to be secreted during neuroinflammation in many pathological
conditions, could play a critical role in disrupting the normal cross-talk between
neurons and astrocytes, thus contributing to the development of the diseases.
1.3 Mechanism of neuroinflammation
Inflammation is classically defined as a highly regulated biological process
that, by means of both the innate and adaptative immune systems, enables the host
organism to deal with, and finally eradicate, the infection (Allan and Rothwell 2003;
Medzhitov 2008). Although somehow isolated from the systemic circulation by the
blood-brain barrier, the brain is an organ which undergoes dynamic immune
responses. It possesses a resident type of immune cells, the microglia, which under
physiological conditions constantly monitor the local microenvironment and
communicate with astrocytes and neurons by secreting anti-inflammatory molecules
and neurotrophic factors (Glass, Saijo et al. 2010). Following injury or pathogen
invasion, however, microglial cells become activated and promptly release a
completely different set of factors, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and
chemokines, which contribute to the onset of the local inflammatory response
(Gonzalez-Scarano and Baltuch 1999). At the same time, these microglial-released
mediators engage immune cells from the peripheral system in order to facilitate
tissue repair (Hickey and Kimura 1988; Glass, Saijo et al. 2010). Thus, inflammatory
cytokines and chemokines released in the site undergoing inflammation mainly serve
to halt the pathogen invasion. Inflammation presents features of a self-limiting
response, and it is typically resolved once the cause of infection has been removed.
Nevertheless, when the inflammatory stimuli are persistent or the usual mechanisms
appointed to resolve inflammation become overwhelmed, the prolonged secretion of

14

pro-inflammatory molecules amplifies the production of neurotoxic species, with

known detrimental consequences for tissue homeostasis (Rivest 2009).
A typical inflammatory response is initiated following the interaction of a
pathogen with a specific class of membrane receptors, the so called pattern
recognition receptors (PRR). So far, four different types of PRR have been
identified: Toll-like receptors (TLRs), C-type lectin receptors, cytoplasmic proteins
such as the RIG-1 like receptors and NOD-like receptors (Rivest 2009; Takeuchi and
Akira 2010). Among them, TLRs are widely expressed in glial cells, in particular by
microglia and astrocytes, whereas to a minor extent in neurons (Kielian 2006; Konat,
Kielian et al. 2006). These receptors recognize a complex pattern of molecules
specifically expressed by pathogens (pathogen-associated molecular patterns,
PAMP). Between the types of TLRs that have been characterized both in humans and
mice (up to twelve), of particular interest is TLR4 - which binds the
lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component of the Gram-negative bacteria - and TLR3,
which is specific for the binding of double-strand RNA (Hanke and Kielian 2011).
PRR can, in some cases, sense endogenous components as well, such as
molecules released from necrotic cells and heat-shock proteins, thus acting as
receptors for potential danger signals (Asea, Rehli et al. 2002). Several evidences
suggest a critical role of TLRs, especially TLR2 and TLR4, in the etiology of chronic
inflammatory diseases, such as atherosclerosis and type-2 diabetes (Balistreri,
Colonna-Romano et al. 2009). Besides PRR, microglia and astrocytes express also
other types of receptors which can equally prompt inflammation such as (i)
purinergic receptors, that sense ATP released from cells upon cell death or injury (Di
Virgilio, Ceruti et al. 2009), and (ii) scavenger receptors, which bind oxidized
proteins and lipids (Murgas, Godoy et al. 2012).
The major downstream signaling pathways activated upon ligation with PRR
are the I-kappa-B (IkB) and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK). In turn,
these kinases modulate several transcription factors belonging to the families of
Nuclear Factor kB (NF-kB), the Activator Protein AP-1 and the Interferon
Regulatory Factors IRFs, which further control a wide set of genes depending on the
cell type (Smale 2010). Accordingly, many of these genes encode for pro-

15

inflammatory cytokines such as Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-), Interleukin-

(IL-1) Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which contribute to the amplification of the
inflammatory response, chemokines (whose role is to recruit additional immune
cells) and antimicrobial proteins (e.g. iNOS) that orchestrate several cellular
functions like cell motility and intracellular killing. Moreover, the increased
production of reactive oxygen or nitrogen species (ROS or RNS) via the NADPH
oxidase system, or by mitochondria, further enhances the antimicrobial response but
can as well promote collateral damages to the cell.
In contrast to the above described mechanisms which contribute to the
generation and amplification of inflammation, the nervous system has several
counter-regulating mechanisms to control and terminate the inflammatory response.
In general, these mechanisms involve the induction of transcriptional repressors
(Nuclear Receptor Related-1, Nurr1), proteins that specifically inhibit signal
transduction pathways (e.g. Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling, or SOCS, proteins)
and anti-inflammatory mediators, such as Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and Transforming
Growth Factor- (TGF-). Yet, how the nervous tissue finely controls the balance
between pro-inflammatory molecular pathways and counter-regulating mechanisms
represents a critical question currently unsolved.
1.4 Contribution of neuroinflammation to neuronal dysfunction and
degeneration
It is now widely accepted that when the inflammatory response of the nervous
tissue (neuroinflammation) is not properly controlled, it can significantly contribute
to neurodegeneration. As a matter of fact, neuroinflammation accompanies the onset
and the progression of widespread neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers
(AD) and Parkinsons diseases (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and
multiple sclerosis (MS). All these syndromes are indeed characterized by a general
activation of microglial cells (Gonzalez-Scarano and Baltuch 1999; Glass, Saijo et al.
2010). Massive activation of both microglia and astrocytes, in combination with
elevated levels of cytokines, has been found to surround the senile plaques in brain
samples of AD patients (Cartier, Hartley et al. 2005). Interestingly, traumatic injury

16

and infection has been suggested to contribute to the early stages of AD (Migliore
and Coppede 2002), and there is now evidence for a correlation between chronic
inflammatory diseases and a higher risk to further develop AD (Biessels, De Leeuw
et al. 2006; Biessels, Staekenborg et al. 2006; van den Berg, Kessels et al. 2006;
Granic, Dolga et al. 2009). Similarly, reactive gliosis has been reported in brain
samples of PD patient (Damier, Hirsch et al. 1993; Miklossy, Doudet et al. 2006;
Vroon, Drukarch et al. 2007; Whitton 2007). Despite the efforts made in order to
elucidate the specific mechanisms underlying these diseases, their ethiopathogenesis
is far to be understood. Although it is quite unlikely that neuroinflammation is the
initiating factor of these diseases, a growing body of evidence supports the idea that
chronic neuroinflammation not only underlies, but significantly participates to their
progression. Importantly, studies indicate that the inflammatory response may take
place even prior the loss of neurons in these diseases (Frank-Cannon, Alto et al.
2009), strengthening the necessity to understand the mechanisms regulating
neuroinflammation and how they could contribute to neurodegeneration.
2

The autophagy-inflammation-mitochondria crosstalk

Autophagy is a well conserved biological process initially discovered as a

mode of undergoing cell death opposed to apoptosis and necrosis (Debnath,

Baehrecke et al. 2005; Levine and Yuan 2005). Its peculiarity is the formation of
intracellular autophagosomes, specialized compartments which enter the degradation
pathway through fusion with late endosomes and then lysosomes (He and Klionsky
2009). Despite the first observations and the classification of autophagy as a celldeath mechanism, during the last years it became clear that cells also use autophagy
as a physiological process for recycling damaged molecules and organelles (Yang
and Klionsky 2009). Different types of autophagy have been identified depending on
which of the known intracellular signaling pathways finally leads to the formation of
autophagosomes (Cuervo, Bergamini et al. 2005; He and Klionsky 2009; Klionsky,
Codogno et al. 2010). Amongst them, mitophagy represents a specific subtype of
autophagy which, as the name says, is important for removing unwanted

17

mitochondria (for example damaged ones) and at the same time allows for
controlling the overall degree of mitochondrial health and number. Several lines of
evidence support now the idea that impairments of the autophagic machinery in
neurons critically contribute to neurodegeneration (Hara, Nakamura et al. 2006;
Mizushima and Hara 2006). This assumption is based on the observations that
inhibition of autophagy results in the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria
(Hara, Nakamura et al. 2006), with an obvious detrimental impact on the bionergetic
status of the cell, or in the impossibility to degrade disease-related proteins which
could then accumulate, ultimately affecting cell viability (Cuervo, Bergamini et al.
2005; Massey, Kaushik et al. 2006).
Besides these classical roles of autophagy, recent reports indicate that this
process possesses a wider spectrum of functions, some of which involve the
regulation of diverse aspects of the innate and adaptative immunity (Mizushima,
Levine et al. 2008; Stappenbeck, Rioux et al. 2011). For example, autophagy
regulates the activation of the inflammasome (that is, the assembly of key proteins
involved in inflammation into a multi-protein complex, for review see (Schroder and
Tschopp 2010; Gross, Thomas et al. 2011)) either by direct degradation of the
inflammasome complex (Harris, Hope et al. 2009) or, indirectly, controlling the
generation of ROS at the level of single mitochondria (Saitoh, Fujita et al. 2008).
Taken together, these aspects suggest a complex scenario in which
autophagy, inflammation and cell death are interconnected each other via multiple
pathways: at the center of this interplay are mitochondria, which can be both targets
and regulators of autophagy and inflammation. Given the well established
involvement of dysfunctional mitochondria in the development of neurodegenerative
diseases (Hara, Nakamura et al. 2006; Mizushima and Hara 2006; Mizushima,
Levine et al. 2008), it becomes important to elucidate which mechanisms play a key
role in mitochondrial dynamics and functioning and how these cope with the
regulation of the inflammatory and autophagic pathways.

18

2.1

Autophagy
Autophagy is a self-eating cellular process highly conserved across species.

This evolutionary conservation is likely due to the essential role played by autophagy
in numerous physiological processes and stress conditions, such for instance during
embryonic development or cytoprotection/survival following starvation (Jia and
Levine 2007; He and Klionsky 2009), or when its required to get rid of damaged
organelles (Cuervo, Bergamini et al. 2005; Deretic and Klionsky 2008; He and
Klionsky 2009; Amarnath, Flomerfelt et al. 2010). Depending on the mode through
which the intracellular targets are finally delivered to lysosomes, autophagy can be
classified in macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy.
Both macro and microautophagy are capable of either selective or non-selective
mechanisms of degradation, distinguished depending on the target which becomes
engulfed. Common selective processes are the ones which target mitochondria
(mitophagy), peroxisomes (pexophagy), endoplasmic reticulum (reticulophagy) and
ribosomes (ribophagy). Macroautophagy (hereafter named autophagy) occurs when
cytoplasmic constituents, such as damaged organelles, molecules, or pathogens are
sequestered into double-membrane structures defined autophagosomes. The fate of
these autophagosomes is to fuse with lysosomes in order to promote the degradation
of targeted cargoes (Bampton, Goemans et al. 2005; Massey, Kaushik et al. 2006;
Klionsky, Elazar et al. 2008).
While the existence of autophagy was documented already in the 1950s, a time in
which electron microscopy allowed the first observations of autophagosomal
structures (Fedorko 1967), a more detailed description concerning the autophagic
machinery and the autophagy related genes (Atg) was unraveled only much later,
thanks to genetic screenings performed in yeast (Cao, Cheong et al. 2008; Cheong
and Klionsky 2008; Cao, Nair et al. 2009). Further studies found homologues of
those genes also in higher eukaryotic systems, suggesting that this process is
conserved across species (Itakura and Mizushima 2010).

19

2.1.1 The autophagy core machinery

The autophagic process could be divided in four major steps (depicted in Fig.
3), each of them requiring a precise orchestration of a specific subset of Atg proteins
for proper execution.

Figure 3. Schematic view of autophagy.

Picture taken from (He and Klionsky 2009).

The first step, the induction of autophagy, is critical because if not properly
controlled, could be harmful for the cell. This step is maintained under control by the

20

serine/threonine kinase target of rapamycin (TOR), a protein that integrates signals

coming from several intracellular pathways and, in turn, inhibits the Atg1 kinase
(which mammalian homologues are ULK1 and ULK2) under physiological
conditions (Cheong and Klionsky 2008; Cheong, Nair et al. 2008). When cells switch
to starvation or the metabolic status becomes poor, then inhibition of TOR leads to
the activation of Atg1 that, by recruiting other Atg proteins, forms a complex with
the Focal Adhesion Kinase FIP200 (Hara and Mizushima 2009). This complex
promotes the formation of the phagophore assembly site (PAS), constituting the
initial compartment of the autophagosome, the phagophore (Cheong and Klionsky
2008).
In case of selective autophagy, an important step is the recognition of the
cargo that can occur following binding of specific receptor proteins. Once this
recognition is completed, Beclin-1 dissociates from the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2
(Levine, Sinha et al. 2008) and binds to the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase
(PI3K) (Furuya, Yu et al. 2005; Criollo, Vicencio et al. 2007; Levine, Sinha et al.
2008; Itakura and Mizushima 2009). This last event then leads to the generation of
the autophagosomal structure. The complex formed by Beclin-1 and PI3K is in fact
essential for recruiting two interrelated ubiquitin-like conjugation systems, Atg12Atg5-Atg16 and Atg8-phosphatidylethanolamine (Atg8-PE), to the phagophore site
(Geng and Klionsky 2008; Xie, Nair et al. 2008; Xie, Nair et al. 2008; Itakura and
Mizushima 2010). Both Atg12 and Atg8 must undergo an irreversible conjugation in
order to be recruited: Atg12 is activated by Atg7 (ref); Atg8 (Light Chain 3BI/LC3B-I in the mammals) is localized to the cytosol under nutrient-rich conditions,
but upon induction of autophagy is first cleaved by a protease, Atg4, then transferred
by the above mentioned Atg7 to Atg3 in order to be conjugated to PE. In this lipidconjugated form, Atg8 (or LC3B-II) is incorporated within the membrane of the
autophagosome.
The last steps of autophagy include the fusion of the autophagosome with a
lysosome, a process mediated by the endosomal protein Rab7 (Romano, Gutierrez et
al. 2007) and the lysosomal protein Lamp-2 (Romano, Gutierrez et al. 2007), and the

21

degradation of the internalized cargo by lysosomal proteases. The degraded products

are then released back to the cytosol upon collapse of the structure.
2.1.2 Deregulation of autophagy in neurodegeneration
A growing body of evidence suggests the existence of a close link between an
alteration in the autophagic machinery and the insurgence of several diseases such as
cancer, infection, heart failure and neurodegeneration, as shown in Fig. 4 (Levine
and Yuan 2005; Levine 2006; Mizushima, Levine et al. 2008). It has been previously
mentioned that autophagy occurs at very low levels under physiological conditions,
although differing depending on the given tissue. Yet, the basal levels of autophagy
are kept under rigid control, since mice lacking important proteins of the autophagic
machinery such Atg7, Atg5 or Beclin1, die during embryogenesis or immediately
after birth (Kuma, Hatano et al. 2004; Komatsu, Waguri et al. 2005; Fimia, Stoykova
et al. 2007), whereas conditional knockout mice survive, although exhibiting severe
motor deficits and neuronal dysfunction (Hara, Nakamura et al. 2006).

22

Figure 4. Scheme resuming the role of autophagy in diseases.

Picture taken from (Mizushima, Levine et al. 2008)

Given the importance of autophagy in the clearance of aberrant proteins, this

process emerged as a potential therapeutical target for many neurodegenerative
diseases. An accumulation of autophagic vacuoles in dystrophic neurites has been in
fact found in the brains of AD patients (Nixon 2005; Nixon, Wegiel et al. 2005;
Rubinsztein, DiFiglia et al. 2005), and mutation in PSEN1 have been proposed to
play a role of defective clearance of autophagic substrates in AD patients (Lee, Yu et
al. 2010). Evidence for a role of autophagy in PD are also available. Mutations in
Parkin or Pink-1 are associated with an autosomal recessive form of PD and have
been shown to impact the functionality of mitochondria (Exner, Treske et al. 2007;
Lutz, Exner et al. 2009; Narendra, Tanaka et al. 2009; Kamp, Exner et al. 2010;
Bouman, Schlierf et al. 2011): since both these proteins are active regulators of
mitophagy, it has been suggested that the autophagic quality control of mitochondria
may be, at least partially, responsible for the disease (Narendra, Tanaka et al. 2009;
Narendra and Youle 2011; Pilsl and Winklhofer 2012).
2.2

Mitochondria: shaping the fate of cells

It is intriguing that most of the cells metabolism and fate relies on a bacterial

relic. These double-membraned, endosymbiontic organelles are in fact known as the

powerhouse of the cell due to the plethora of effects that they exert. Ranging from
few hundreds to many thousands per mammalian cell, mitochondria produce most of
the intracellular ATP and are involved in some of the main signaling pathways
concerned with cell homeostasis, ranging from oxidative phosphorylation to redox
signaling and metabolism (Knott, Perkins et al. 2008; Yen and Klionsky 2008).
Moreover, they buffer the intracellular cytosolic Ca2+, thus contributing to regulate
Ca2+ signaling (Singaravelu, Nelson et al. 2011) and protecting cells from excessive
Ca2+ influx (Knott, Perkins et al. 2008).
Despite classical studies, in which mitochondria investigated at the
ultrastructural level through electron microscopy were shown as static and immobile

23

organelles, the advent of molecular biology and new imaging techniques revealed
that mitochondria are very dynamic in their motion, and continuously undergo
fission (that is, they split in two or more mitochondria) and fusion (when two
mitochondria join together) events, apparently without a clear architecture (Song,
Bossy et al. 2008; Mitra and Lippincott-Schwartz 2010). However, despite these
apparent chaotic and random movements of mitochondria, it starts to become clear
that the maintenance of a dynamic mitochondrial network is functional to the
metabolic state of the cell. In particular, mitochondrial shape represents a critical
aspect indicative of their health and energetic status, two features which change
according to mitochondrial morphology and location within a cell, especially when
the cell is polarized and possesses distinct functional subcellular compartments. For
instance, in the axon of neurons mitochondria show a high degree of movement,
fusion and fission, and could therefore properly reach functional spots in which
energy production is particularly needed, such as synapses. As a consequence,
alterations in mitochondrial functionality (which reflect the inability of mitochondria
to proper move or impair the fusion-to-fission balance) are likely to participate in the
progression of axonal, and thus neuronal, neurodegeneration in several diseases
(Bossy-Wetzel, Barsoum et al. 2003; Bossy-Wetzel, Petrilli et al. 2008; Knott and
Bossy-Wetzel 2008; Knott, Perkins et al. 2008).
2.2.1 Molecular effectors orchestrating mitochondrial dynamics
As a general principle, the morphology of mitochondria is assured by the
activity of proteins mediating either mitochondrial fusion or fission: fission mainly
contributes to mitochondrial renewal and redistribution (Parone, Da Cruz et al. 2008;
Lackner and Nunnari 2009); Fusion is instead important for mitochondrionmitochondrion interactions, and it promotes the exchange of metabolites and
mitochondrial DNA (Scott and Youle 2010). Due to their mutual cooperation, the
proteins responsible for these two mechanisms properly balance mitochondrial
dynamics in response to the cells needs (Karbowski and Youle 2003; Anesti and
Scorrano 2006; Campello, Lacalle et al. 2006; Cereghetti and Scorrano 2006). The
knowledge regarding the respective mechanisms of action of these fusion and fission

24

proteins mostly derives from studies performed in yeast (Nunnari, Marshall et al.
1997; Shaw and Nunnari 2002; Oettinghaus, Frank et al. 2011). However, the
relevant degree of conservation amongst them has made possible to correlate the
results obtained in yeast with the potential mechanisms taking place in mammalian
cells.
On a molecular level, all the proteins regulating mitochondrial fusion and
fission belong to the family of GTPases (Fig. 5). Dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp-1)
and Mitochondrial Fission Factor (Mff) are the major proteins regulating fission in
mammals (Bleazard, McCaffery et al. 1999; Tieu and Nunnari 2000; Frank, Gaume
et al. 2001; Osteryoung and Nunnari 2003; Szabadkai, Simoni et al. 2004; Lackner
and Nunnari 2009; Otera, Wang et al. 2010): these proteins, normally located in the
cellular cytoplasm, intermittently contact the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM),
possibly interacting with the outer membrane-associated protein hFIS1 (Tieu,
Okreglak et al. 2002). However, the exact role of hFIS1 in recruiting Drp-1 at the
OMM is still under debate, since in mammals this protein has been shown to be
dispensable for the direct recruitment of Drp-1 (Lee, Jeong et al. 2004; Lee, Jeong et
al. 2007).

25

Figure 5. The fission and fusion machinery. Schematic representation showing mitochondrial fusion
(left) and fission (right). Mitofusin 1 and 2 are responsible for fusion of OMM, while Opa1 promotes
IMM fusion. Drp-1 is the major protein involved in fission.

When fission occurs, Drp-1 stably binds the OMM and there it forms clusters
(foci) which identify the future division sites of the organelle (Fig. 5). During this
process,

mitochondria

undergo

massive

ultrastructural

changes,

including

degeneration of the cristae membranes, which allow the division of the organelles
(Smirnova, Griparic et al. 2001). Recently, Friedman et al. (2011) demonstrated the
involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in marking the sites of division
before this division occurs, suggesting a tight cooperation between fission proteins
located in mitochondria and other intracellular organelles (ref) (Friedman, Lackner et
al. 2011).
On the other side, mitochondrial fusion occurs via components of both the
OMM and IMM (inner mitochondrial membrane). Mitofusin 1 and 2 (Mfn1, Mfn2)
are two main transmembrane proteins mediating fusion at the OMM (Santel, Frank et
al. 2003): it has been proposed that fusion occurs via direct tethering of the OMM of
two separate mitochondria, a process involving homotypic interactions between
mitofusins (Koshiba, Detmer et al. 2004). Fusion of the IMM requires instead Optic
Atrophic Protein 1 (Opa1), which is located in the intermembrane space between
IMM and OMM (Zanna, Ghelli et al. 2008). Opa1 can exist in up to eight different
isoforms (likely having distinct functions), and the overall ratio between the short
and long isoforms is believed to be regulated by proteolytic cleavage (Ehses,
Raschke et al. 2009).
2.2.2 Autophagy shapes mitochondria, or the other way round
As previously described, autophagy can target mitochondria for their
selective degradation and recycling of their components. This eventuality, although
taking place as part of the physiological cellular metabolism, can be enhanced under
specific conditions, such as when mitochondria become damaged or dysfunctional
(Rambold and Lippincott-Schwartz 2011; Youle and Narendra 2011). Irrespective of

26

the stimulus finally leading to mitophagy, one of the first events tagging
dysfunctional mitochondria is represented by a depolarization of their membrane.
Such depolarization can in turn be recognized by the voltage sensitive Pten-Induced
Putative Kinase 1 (Pink1) (Jin, Lazarou et al. 2010). Normally, Pink1 is subjected to
high turnover rates in mitochondria, however upon loss of mitochondrial potential
this protein becomes stabilized on the OMM, thus facilitating the subsequent
recruitment of Parkin, an E3-ubiquitin ligase responsible for the ubiquitylation of
several mitochondrial proteins such as Mfn1, Mfn2 and the Voltage-Dependent
Anion Channel protein VDAC (Jin, Lazarou et al. 2010; Narendra, Kane et al. 2010;
Narendra, Jin et al. 2010; Karbowski and Youle 2011; Narendra and Youle 2011;
Youle and Narendra 2011; Pilsl and Winklhofer 2012). Ubiquitylation represents
indeed the last step before autophagosome formation and degradation of
mitochondria, which occurs through the recruitment of other proteins such as p62
(Ichimura and Komatsu 2010; Komatsu and Ichimura 2010; Isogai, Morimoto et al.
2011). In addition, several other components regulate mitophagy. Amongst these are
NIX (Aerbajinai, Giattina et al. 2003; Dorn 2010; Kanki 2010; Kanki and Klionsky
2010), Ambra1 (Fimia, Stoykova et al. 2007; Herrera, Decano et al. 2009; Di
Bartolomeo, Corazzari et al. 2010; Strappazzon, Vietri-Rudan et al. 2011)and
essential proteins of the autophagic machinery like Atg7 and Atg5 (Komatsu, Waguri
et al. 2005; Stephenson, Miller et al. 2009; Vazquez, Arroba et al. 2012).
Despite the described mechanism of mitophagy, two recent papers have now
suggested that mitochondria can be spared from autophagy through a mechanism
which implies their hyperelongation. In the first of these studies, Gomes and
coworkers (Gomes, Di Benedetto et al. 2011) showed that, under starvation,
mitochondria react by increasing their degree of fusion, a finding quickly supported
from a second work (Rambold, Kostelecky et al. 2011). The resulting network of
hyperelongated (or hyperfused) mitochondria was shown to depend upon the
inhibition of Drp1, and this mechanism was ultimately necessary to spare these
organelles from the otherwise obligatory autophagic pathway. Functionally, this new
mechanisms through which cells could maintain their mitochondrial network in
critical conditions of starvation justifies the fact that ATP production could be

27

preserved and cell death avoided (Gomes, Di Benedetto et al. 2011). However, it
remains to understand if hyperfusion represents one last tentative of starving cells to
delay their death or rather if it is a transient condition that cells only use in extreme
cases, such as when facing a reduction of nutrients, after which the regular
mitochondrial network could be restored.
Recent findings have drastically changed the view that autophagy and
mitochondria are linked each other uniquely by mitophagy. Remarkably, one study
has now pointed out an interesting aspect of the crosstalk between autophagy and
mitochondria, suggesting that these organelles do not exclusively represent a
substrate for autophagic-mediated renewal but, rather, are capable to independently
promote the formation of new autophagosomes (Hailey, Rambold et al. 2010), a
mechanism previously believed to occur only through membrane supply from the ER
(Axe, Walker et al. 2008), Golgi (Young, Chan et al. 2006) and plasma membrane
(Ravikumar, Moreau et al. 2010). In the work of Hailey et al, mitochondrial
membrane

is

shown

to

be

the

primary

site

of

the

production

of

phosphatidylethanolamine during starvation-induced autophagy, different from

normal conditions, in which is rather the ER providing this autophagic precursor
through the Kennedy reaction (McMaster and Bell 1997). Nutrient depletion would
then be the discriminating factor by which the cells switch from ER to the
mitochondria for producing autophagosomes.
Mitochondrial redox signaling is an additional way that links mitochondria
with changes in the autophagic activity of cells. It has been reported that byproducts
of the oxidative metabolism, such as ROS and RNS, are able to stimulate autophagy
(Murphy 2009). For instance, it has been shown that H2O2 can oxidize mitochondrial
proteins, thus impairing the electron-transfer process and thereby inducing the
generation of superoxide (Beckman 2002). Although low levels of ROS play
important roles in cell signaling, elevated levels can severely damage the
functionality of mitochondria by oxidizing proteins and lipids, resulting in a
detrimental output for the cell. On the other hand, RNS, and in particular those
derived by nitric oxide (NO), have been described to exert a variety of effects on
autophagy. Barsoum and colleagues (2006) reported that NO-donors are able to

28

induce Drp-1 dependent fission of mitochondria in primary cortical neurons

(Barsoum, Yuan et al. 2006). Moreover, studies performed in different cell lines
showed that NO is able to inhibit IKKb and JNK1, leading to the activation of
Beclin1 and to the promotion of the autophagic response (Sarkar, Korolchuk et al.
2011).

Specific aims
In order to understand the mechanisms controlling the reactivity of astrocytes

during brain inflammation, in particular which of the cellular processes are among
the first to become altered, we investigated the mitochondrial dynamics in primary
astrocytic cultures following acute inflammation. Confocal microscopy, fluorescent
probes and live-imaging were used to monitor the influence of pro-inflammatory
mediators on mitochondrial morphology, motility and energetic status. Alterations in
mitochondrial dynamics were tracked at the level of single organelles and linked to
the activation of autophagy in inflamed astrocytes. Furthermore, co-cultures of
cortical neurons and astrocytes were used to assess the cell-specific contribution of
this subpopulation of glial cells in sustaining or impairing neuronal survival under
inflammation.

29

RESULTS
1.1.

Astrocytes

respond

to

pro-inflammatory

molecules

by

transiently rearranging their mitochondria

To investigate if the onset and progression of an inflammatory reaction could
affect the general viability of astroglial cells, we established an in vitro model which
mimics the instauration the inflammatory process. To this aim, we made use of
primary cultures of cortical astrocytes from P1-P2 mice, in which the superficial
layers of the somatosensory and motor cortex were dissociated and cells were plated
and mantained in DMEM + 10% FCS medium until reaching confluency (usually 2-3
weeks), as previosly described (McCarthy and de Vellis 1980). The enrichment in
astrocytes of these cultures (>85%) was then confirmed by performing
immunostaining for typical astrocytic markers, such as the glial-fibrillary acidic
protein (GFAP) (Fig. 6A-B) or the calcium-binding protein S100. To mimic an
inflammatory

environment,

we

have

chosen

to

use

combination

of

lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 g/l) and interferon- (IFN-; 1 g/l), hereafter

defined as LI, because of the well known capacity of these molecules to induce a
strong and reliable inflammatory response in glial cells (Bal-Price and Brown 2001).
As one of the main aims of this thesis is to unravel the initial events undergoing
reactivity in astrocytes following inflammation, we then restricted the analysis to the
first 1-2 days following LI treatment. First, we performed a cytofluorimetric assay
with fluorescein labeled Annexin V as a read-out of ongoing apoptosis and cell death
in inflamed astrocytes. No differences in apoptosis or cell death were observed
between control or inflamed astrocytes (Fig. 6C), suggesting that during this short
period upon LI treatment, no significant alteration in cell viability could be detected.
Then, we investigated the intracellular production of ATP by chemiluminescence,
and observed about a 2-fold increase of ATP production following inflammation
already starting from 2 hours post-LI treatment (Fig. 6F), indicating that astrocytes
rapidly underwent a metabolic change which implies the request of more energy. To
investigate the intracellular origin of such increase in ATP production, we repeated
the same experiment under low-glucose conditions, an experimental paradigm often

30

used to discriminate between mitochondrial and glycolitic ATP-production.

Interestingly, in low-glucose medium the levels of produced ATP were
indistinguishable between control and inflamed astrocyes at all examined time-points
(Fig. 6F), suggesting that the glycolitic pathway takes over in producing ATP during
stimulation of astrocytes with pro-inflammatory molecules.
To better understand if mitochondria could be directly involved in the cellular
changes initiated by inflammation, we performed a time-course of mitochondria
analysis upon LI treatment and investigated the morphology of mitochondria by
labeling astrocytes with MitoTracker Red. Surprisingly, we could observe a
stereotipic pattern of progressive morphological alterations in mitochondria
following inflammation, which consisted in the formation of either globular or rodlike structures, very dissimilar from the tubular structures typical of healthy
astrocytes (Fig. 6D). The appearance of this phenotype started as early as 4 hours
post-LI treatment, with the extremities of tubular mitochondria rounding up to form
loop-like structures, it peaked by 8-12 hours and started to disappear by 24 hours
post-LI treatment, with astrocytes showing again a tubular mitochondrial population
and few fragmented or rod-like mitochondria (Fig. 6D). We also quantified the
mitochondrial length of the astrocytes during this time-window (Fig. 6E), and we
found out that mitochondria become shorter over the time, reaching up to one third of
the usual length of control mitochondria at 8 hours (51% Ctrl mitochondria: >3 m;
48% LI: 1-2 m).

31

Figure 6. Astrocytes respond to pro-inflammatory molecules by transiently rearranging their

mitochondria. (A) Schematic representation of the astrocytes culture preparation and treatment. (B)
Immunostaining of astrocytes for GFAP (green), a marker commonly used to label astrocytes, and
MitoTracker Red (red), to label mitochondria. (C) Cytofluorimetric analysis of apoptosis and necrosis
with Annexin-V and 7-AAD of Ctrl and LI-treated astrocytes. (D) High resolution confocal images of
Ctrl and LI-treated astrocytes at the given time-points. Astrocytes were previously incubated with

32

MitoTracker Red to visualize mitochondria. Magnification of selected regions of the cells (dashed
squares) are shown below each panel. Bars, 5 and 2 m. (E) Quantification of mitochondrial length
using ImageJ, as reported in Materials&Methods. **p< 0.01 versus Ctrl mitochondria. (F) ATP
measurements of Ctrl and LI-treated astrocytes in the presence of normal medium (black line) or low
glucose medium (grey line). **p< 0.01 versus Ctrl, ***p< 0.001 versus Ctrl.

33

1.2.

Inflammation-mediated changes of mitochondrial dynamics

entail reduced motility, fragmentation and clustering
Given the characteristic change in mitochondrial morphology observed after

inflammation, which anyway appeared to be confined to the first hours after LI

treatment, we performed a set of live imaging experiments to study the progressive
alteration of the mitochondrial network. Time-lapse experiments were performed at
controlled temperature (37C) and CO2 (5%) up to 8-12 hours by imaging single
astrocytes previously transfected with a plasmid encoding for mito-GFP, in which
the GFP fluorochrome is selectively targeted to mitochondria through its fusion with
the subunit VIII of the cytochrome-C oxidase. Imaging of these transfected
astrocytes allowed us to monitor in real-time the time-dependent alterations in
mitochondrial dynamics, otherwise impossible to presume from experiments
conducted in fixed cells. In most movies, control cells display a higly dynamic, but
homogeneous network of mitochondria throughout the recording. Differently,
inflammation induces the progressive alteration in the distribution of mitochondria,
followed by the terminal clustering of some mitochondria around the perinuclear
region 8-12 hours post-treatment (data not shown).
Time-lapse video imaging revealed that the earliest events underlining
mitochondrial dynamics following inflammation could be a change in mitochondrial
motility. To quantify this mitochondrial motility, we acquired z-stack confocal
frames at high frequency (1 frame every 30 seconds), in order to effectively track
single mitochondria across time (Fig. 7A). Fig. 7B shows a sequence of
representative frames, spaced 4 minutes each, in a region of interest within a control
or inflamed astrocyte at 4 hours after LI treatment. Single mitochondria (two
mitochondria in the control astrocyte and four mitochondria in the treated astrocyte)
were identified off-line and pseudo-colored in both cells, to facilitate the analysis.

34

Figure 7. Tracking of mitochondria by live-imaging microscopy. (A) Scheme resuming the

experimental plan for mitochondrial tracking. (B) Representative frames from movies taken on
either Ctrl or LI-treated astrocytes, previously transfected with mito-GFP. Representative
tracked mitochondria are drawn off-line in pseudo-colors (two for Ctrl astrocytes and four for
LI-treated astrocytes) and qualitative analysis of the relative spatial shift is shown. Bar, 5 m.

35

Figure 8. Inflammation-mediated changes of mitochondrial dynamics entail reduced

motility, fragmentation and clustering. (A) Quantification of mitochondrial motility upon
inflammation with MTrackJ, as reported in Materials&Methods. Mitochondria were classified
in three different groups according to the D2P value. *p< 0.05 versus Ctrl. (B) Average speed of
tracked mitochondria using MTrackJ. *p< 0.05 versus Ctrl. (C) Representative frames taken
from movies of either Ctrl or LI-treated astrocytes previously transfected with mito-GFP, that
show the progressive clustering of mitochondria to the perinucleus. To highlight the perinuclear
clustering of mitochondria, images were false-coloured. Bar, 10 m.

36

Whereas control cells displayed high degree of motility during the imaged
time window, which could be appreciated by the spatial shift of these individual
mitochondria across frames, inflamed astrocytes showed shorter and much more
static mitochondria, the motility of which appeared drastically reduced compared to
control mitochondria as indicated by their spatial shift analysis (Fig. 7B).
Quantification of mitochondria motility at 1, 4 and 8 hours post-treatment resulted in
the graph showed in Fig. 8A, in which the relative motility amongst mitochondria
was divided in 3 different classes, depending on the mean D2P value (see Materials
and Methods for details): stationary (D2P <0,2 m), moving (D2P 0,3-1 m) and
highly moving (D2P >1 m). Compared to control cells, treated astrocytes displayed
a higher percentage of stationary mitochondria already 1 hour after inflammation,
indicating that these are higly sensitive organelles which rapidly respond to the
presence of pro-inflammatory molecules. Notably, this difference significantly
increased by 4 and 8 hours post-LI treatment, concomitantly with a reduction of the
proportion of highly moving mitochondria (Fig. 8A). According to these
quantifications, the average speed of mitochondria at these time-points progressively
decreased in inflamed astrocytes (Fig. 8B). Remarkably, the observed changes in
mitochondrial motility and length correlated with the general distribution of
mitochondria in treated astrocytes, with a substantial fraction of them becoming
clustered around the perinucleus (Fig. 8C). Together, these data suggest that
inflammation rapidly induces a temporal sequence of changes in mitochondrial
dynamics occurring within few hours and involving (i) mitochondrial motility, (ii)
average mitochondrial speed and (iii) clustering of mitochondria.

37

1.3.

Fusion is impaired in the initial phases of mitochondrial

rearrangement
A proper balance of fusion and fission represents an important mechanism in

the omeostatic maintenance of the mitochondrial network in a living cell (Scott,

Cassidy-Stone et al. 2003; Suen, Norris et al. 2008). For this reason, and given the
above described key observations demonstrating an altered mitochondrial motility
occurring quickly upon inflammation, we monitored the fusion proficiency of
mitochondria following inflammation. To this aim, astrocytes were transfected with a
plasmid encoding for the photoactivatable(PA)-mitoGFP, a fluorophore that is
targeted to mitochondria but that becomes detectable in the GFP spectrum
exclusively after its irradiation with wavelengths in the UV spectrum (Karbowski,
Arnoult et al. 2004). In addition to this construct, astrocytes were transfected with the
mito-DsRed plasmid, in order to selectively direct the UV laser beam onto a well
defined population of mitochondria within the cell. As illustrated in Fig. 9A, the
photo-activation of an irradiated squared area (in green) mediates the conversion of
the PA-mitoGFP, which then becomes detectable with standard GFP filters. Thus,
time-lapse imaging of GFP-emitting photo-activated mitochondria and DsRedemitting mitochondria results in a direct measurement of the fusion events of the
photo-activated mitochondria, through merging of the GFP and DsRed signals. Fig. 9
B shows the time-course of fusion events after photo-activation of a defined square
area (green square in the cell overview) across 40 minutes, in which the cells were
imaged every 5 minutes. The sequence depicted in the upper panels shows the
progressive diffusion of the GFP signal from the original ROI of photo-activation to
the non-photo-activated external area in a control astrocyte. The first and last frames
are presented as merge of the GFP (photo-activated mitochondria) and DsRed (nonirradiated mitochondria) channels showing that, over time, green mitochondria fuse
with red mitochondria (yellow signal) just beyond the borders of the ROI in a control
cell. In the lower panels, an inflamed cell was subjected to the same analysis: in this
case, the GFP signal almost did not diffuse out of the ROI of irradiation, indicating
that mitochondrial fusion with DsRed-expressing mitochondria did not occur.
Quantification of 4 cells per experimental condition (control vs. inflamed at 4 hours

38

post-LI treatment) resulted in a progressive decrease in the signal intensity of the

GFP within the ROI in control, but not in inflamed astrocytes (Fig. 9C). This
reduction of the GFP signal observed in control cells indicates that mitochondria
underwent more fusion events than inflamed cells.
Moreover, the analysis of an outer ROI (Fig. 4D-E), corresponding to the
concentric area to the initial ROI of photo-activation, shows that the GFP signal
significantly increases in this area over the time in control cells, in marked contrast to
inflamed cells, again demonstrating that fusion did not occur upon inflammation
(Fig. 9D-E). Accordingly, the comparison between the GFP signal appearing in the
outer ROI and that of a reference ROI located far from the site of photo-activation,
confirmed this data.

39

Ctrl 4h
LI 4h
Figure 9. Fusion is impaired in the initial phases of mitochondrial rearrangement. (A) Schematic
representation showing the photoactivation of a specific region of interest (ROI), depicted in green in
the left panel; definition of an inner ROI (white square, right panel) and an outer ROI (grey square,
right panel), used for the following analysis. (B) Representative frames taken from movies of
astrocytes previously transfected with mito-DsRed and mito-PAGFP. The inner and outer ROI of the
given cells are in green and red, respectively. For every condition, the first and the last merged frames
of the movies are shown (right panel). Fusing mitochondria become yellow. Changes in fluorescence
intensities of the inner ROI (C), outer ROI (D) and the ratio inner/outer ROI (E) were also quantified
over the time. Bar, 10 m.

40

1.4.

Role played by nitric oxide in mitochondria remodeling during

inflammation

It is well known that inflammatory stimuli induce iNOS up-regulation in glial cells,
with the consequent increase in NO production (Almeida, Almeida et al. 2001).
Accordingly, astrocytes showed a rapid up-regulation of iNOS following LI tratment,
which was evident already by 4h later (Fig. 6A). To effectively demonstrate that NO
was produced under LI tratment and to increase the temporal resolution of our
measurments, we performed a detailed analysis of NO production over the time by
using the DAF-FM indicator. In these experiments, a positive control consisting in
the stimulation of astrocytes with 100 M SNAP, a NO donour, was used. Indeed,
SNAP promptly released NO in the astrocytic cultures, which accumulated over time
and was detected by the assay (Fig. 10B). LI stimulation induced a similar increase
in the intracellular NO concentration already starting from 30 min post-treatment: the
amount of NO did not further increase, but rather stayed stable for the entire course
of the experiment (Fig. 10B), indicating that a constant production of NO
characterizes inflamed astrocytes during the first 24 hours of stimulation. Since
iNOS up-regulation and NO production represent molecular hallmarks of an ongoing
process of inflammation and are readily reproduced in astrocytes, we asked whether
the observed mitochondrial rearrangement was somewhat dependent of the induction
of this enzyme. To this aim, we pre-treated astrocytes with L-NAME, a well known
inhibitor of iNOS, before inducing inflammation. Remarkably, mitochondria
appeared to be completely rescued in the morphology following inflammation, as
shown in Fig. 10C-D, in which astrocytes labeled with MitoTracker Red exhibited a
tubular morphology of mitochondria only in the presence of L-NAME. These results
indicate that the mitochondrial rearrangement observed following LI treatment
requires NO to occur, and interfering with iNOS may prevent inflammationdependent alteration of mitochondria.

41

D
L-NAME

Figure 10. Role played by nitric oxide in mitochondria remodeling during inflammation. (A)
Time-course of iNOS induction upon LI treatment by Western Blot. (B) Quantification of NO
production with DAF-FM following LI o application of the NO donor SNAP. (C) High resolution
confocal images of MitoTracker Red-treated and LI-treated astrocytes in the absence or presence of
the iNOS inhibitor L-NAME and (D) relative quantification of mitochondrial morphology.
Magnifications of selected regions of the cells (dashed squares) are shown below each panel. Note the
abolishment of mitochondrial rearrangement in inflamed astrocytes when pretreated with L-NAME.
Bar, 5 m.

42

1.5.

Altered mitochondria produce high levels of ROS

In mammalian cells, mitochondria represent one of the major sources of ROS, which
are by-products of the oxidative respiration under basal conditions. When
mitochondria are damaged, the consequent dysregulation of the oxidative
phosphorylation machinery results in an increased generation of ROS (Brookes,
Yoon et al. 2004). We thus tested whether, during inflammation, mitochondria
display an altered ROS production in comparison with mitochondria of control
astrocytes. To verify this hypothesis, we co-stained mitochondria of control and LItreated astrocytes with MitoTracker Green, to visualize the overall mitochondrial
population, and with MitoSOX, a rhodamine derivative that selectively binds
mitochondrially-derived superoxide molecules. we checked the mitochondrial ROS
(mROS) production 24h after the induction of inflammation, the time point in which
only a small portion of mitochondria maintains an altered morphology. As illustrated
in Fig. 11, mROS production was nearly undetectable in mitochondria of control
astrocytes, in which the dominant phenotype was tubular. We also observed nuclear
unspecific staining (N) of MitoSOX, since this tracker has a hydroethidine residue
that can stain nuclei as well. Interestingly, inflamed astrocytes showed a different
pattern of mROS reactivity, depending on the mitochondrial morphology: whereas
the tubular network displayed very little staining for MitoSOX, the few fragmented
mitochondria still present in the periphery of the cells exhibited a clear upregulation
of mROS levels.
These data strongly suggest that ROS production at the level of individual
mitochondria correlates with their morphology. In turn, this could indicate that
inflammation-triggered intracellular cascades mediate the damage of mitochondria
and the over-production of ROS.

43

Figure 11. Altered mitochondria produce high levels of ROS. (A) Representative pictures (single
and merged channels) of cultured astrocytes incubated with MitoTracker Green and MitoSOX, a dye
specific for labeling mitochondrial-derived superoxide, and kept in control (A) or inflamed conditions
(B). Magnifications of specific regions (dashed squares) are shown on the right of each picture.
Unspecific nuclear staining of MitoSOX is marked with N. Damaged mitochondria in LI-treated
astrocytes showed higher immunoreactivity for MitoSOX (arrowheads). Bar, 10 m.

44

1.6.

Autophagy is a key feature of inflamed astrocytes

Mitophagy is a well known mechanism adopted by the cell for assuring a proper
mitochondrial quality control. As previously illustrated, astrocytic mitochondria
undergo fragmentation and exhibit high levels of ROS production following proinflammatory stimuli. We then postulated that, during the first 24 hours of
inflammation, mitophagy could play a critical role in eliminating damaged
mitochondria, thus contributing to the re-establishment of a proper tubular network
observed after 24h (Fig. 6). To check for this possibility, We performed time-lapse
experiments by co-transfecting astrocytes with mitoDsRed in which, similarly to
mitoGFP, the DsRed fluorochrome is selectively targeted to mitochondria, and LC3GFP, a fusion protein between the microtubule-associated protein LC3 and the GFP
fluorochrome which allows for monitoring the autophagosome formation (Bampton,
Goemans et al. 2005; Klionsky, Abeliovich et al. 2008). We then imaged control and
inflamed astrocytes up to 12 hours, with an acquisition rate of one frame every 4
minutes. Fig. 12 depicts representative frames extracted at key time-points from a
recorded movie. Under basal conditions, control astrocytes maintained a stable
tubular mitochondrial network throughout the entire recording (Fig. 12, upper panel),
whereas the LC3-GFP expression pattern was mostly diffused in the cytosol, with the
formation of very few GFP punctae (indicative of autophagosomes) which number
was stable over the time. On the contrary, upon inflammatory stimuli the
mitochondrial population showed a progressive clustering (Fig. 12, lower panel),
paralleled by the generation of numerous punctae of LC3-GFP, typical of autophagy
induction (Klionsky, Abeliovich et al. 2008). Colocalization analysis between DsRed
(mitochondria) and GFP (autophagosomes) revealed that the formation of
autophagosomes structures preferentially occurred at sites of mitochondrial
clustering (Fig. 12, magnifications). Thus, inflamed astrocytes respond with
mitochondrial rerrangement and, in parallel, undergo autophagy.

45

Figure 12. Autophagy is a key feature of inflamed astrocytes. Representative frames of 12h movies
taken from cultured previously transfected with MitoDsRed and LC3-GFP. Inflammation induces a
time-dependent formation of autophagosomes, that goes in parallel with the mitochondrial clustering
(lower panel). The right panel shows the colocalization degree between the signals coming from
MitoDsRed and LC3-GFP. Bar, 10 m.

46

1.7.

Autophagic markers co-localize with fragmented mitochondria:

mitochondria are fated to mitophagy during inflammation

To investigate in detail the relationship between the formation of inflammationinduced autophagosomes and the morphological changes observed in mitochondria,
we first analyzed the time-dependent expression of the endogenous levels of LC3BII, the LC3B isoform known to be responsible for the formation of the
autophagosome (Mizushima and Yoshimori 2007). Western blot performed on
confluent cultures of astrocytes treated with LI for different time-points revealed the
abundant conversion of LC3B-I into LC3B-II starting 4 hours after tratment, peaking
at 8 hours and declining at 24 hours (Fig. 13). Interestingly, LPS treatment per se
was able to elicit a similar increase in LC3B-II lipidation (Fig. 13B). To analyze the
cellular distribution of the newly-formed autophagosomes with respect to the
mitochondrial morphology after inflammation, we performed an immunostaining for
LC3B-II at the time of its highest expression, 8 hours post-treatment. To this aim,
control or LI-treated astrocytes were labeled with MitoTracker Red immediately
before fixation and astrocytes were processed by immunocytochemistry with an
antibody specific for LC3B-II. In control cells, tubular mitochondria were devoid of
any LC3B-II immunoreactivity, which was found to be low in intensity and
homogenously distributed within individual cells (Fig. 13A, left panel). On the
contrary, inflammation induced a considerable increase in the immunoreactivity of
LC3B-II, which mostly colocalized with fragmented and rod-like mitochondria (Fig.
13A). Three-dimensional reconstruction of the acquired images revealed the high
degree of colocalization between altered mitochondria and LC3II-B (Fig. 13A, right
panel), suggesting that damaged rod-like mitochondria may be preferentially fated to
degradation via autophagosomes and thus subsequent fusion with lysosomes (He and
Klionsky 2009) or that they could selectively promote the formation of
autophagosomes themseves, as the external mitochondrial membrane has been
recently proposed to contribute in the genesis of new autophagosomes (Hailey,
Rambold et al. 2010). If altered mitochondria would be finally targeted to lysosomes,
we hypothesized that a an immunostaining for a specific lysosomal marker such as

47

Lamp-2 (Bampton, Goemans et al. 2005) could reveal this phaenomenon. Thus, we
transfected astrocytes with mito-GFP, to reveal the mitochondrial network, and then
checked whether the LC3B-II positive mitochondrial structures were also
colocalizing with Lamp-2. Fig. 14 shows the immunocytochemistry of control and
inflamed astrocytes at 4 and 24 hours post-treatment. In control cells, no overt
colocalization between mito-GFP, LC3B-II and Lamp-2 was observed. Upon
inflammation, and following mitochondrial rearrangement, the levels of LC3B-II
increased and co-localized with mito-GFP; however, albeit mitochondria and LC3BII were closely apposed with lysosomes, no evident co-localization with Lamp-2 was
observed at this time-point (Fig. 14A). On the other hand, a clear colocalization of
Lamp-2 and LC3B-II was found 24 hours after LI stimulation (Fig.14A) suggesting
that, during the course of the experiment, mitochondria first enucleated within
autophagosomes and only later some of these mitochondria-autophagosome
complexes were targeted to the lysosomal pathway. Interestingly, the effect induced
by LI stimulation on mitochondrial rearrangement and autophagosome formation
could be considered as a general mechanism adopted by astrocytes to react to
inflammation: stimulation with IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-, all cytokines that are
physiologically released during the inflammatory response, produced a comparable
effect to that of LI treatment on LC3B lipidation when this was assessed by
immunostaining (Fig. 14A) or western blot (Fig. 14B).

48

Figure 13. Inflammation-mediated upregulation of autophagy. (A) Representative pictures

(merged channels) of cultured astrocytes incubated with MitoTracker Red and immunostained for
LC3BII, a specific marker for autophagosomes. Lower panels show 3D reconstruction of selected
portions demonstrating the colocalization between the two signals (arrowheads). Bar, 5 m. (B) Time
course of LC3B lipidation after inflammation analyzed by western blot. Note that even LPS alone (8
hours) is able to induce autophagy.

49

Figure 14. Autophagic markers co-localize with fragmented mitochondria: mitochondria are
fated to mitophagy during inflammation. (A) High resolution confocal images of astrocytes
expressing mito-GFP (to visualize mitochondria) treated either with LI or with different cytokines (IL1, TNF-) at given time-points, and immunostained with markers for autophagy (LC3BII) and
lysosomes (Lamp-2). Cytokines-induced mitochondrial rearrangement is similar to that observed upon
LI treatment. Magnification of selected regions (dashed squares) is showed in the lower panels. For
each condition, the colocalizations between autophagosomes and Lamp-2 (left squares) or
mitochondria and Lamp-2 (right squares) are depicted. Significant colocalzation of the three signals
(arrowheads) is present only 24 hours after treatment. Bar, 10 m. (D) Western blot analysis shows
that treatment of astrocytes with the upper mentioned cytokines induced a comparable induction of
autophagy as LI does.

50

1.8.

Inflammation triggers autophagy in astrocytes of cortical brain

slices

While we have shown that pro-inflammatory molecules can elicit the formation of
autophagosomes onto altered individual mitochondria, it is currently not known if
autophagy represent a physiological mechanisms in astrocytes in response to
inflammation within the native brain tissue. To address this point we performed
additional experiments in acute brain slices derived from hGFAP-GFP mice, in
which GFP is expressed under the control of the human GFAP promoter (Nolte,
Matyash et al. 2001). In these mice, type I and II astrocytes are selectively
expressing GFP, and therefore it becomes easier to reveal their finest morphology
even without immunostaining (Fig. 15A-B). Acute slices were prepared from 4 to 6
weeks old mice and maintained in oxigenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF)
containing or not LPS and IFN-. Incubation in ACSF for 6-8 hours induced a
remarkable increase in GFP expression, indicative of up-regulation of GFAP
(which represents a marker of gliosis) as shown in Fig 15C. Following fixation of
these slices, confocal acquisition of individual astrocytes and 3D reconstruction of
the acquired z-stacks (Fig. 15D), we analyzed the degree of colocalization with the
autophagic marker LC3B-II. While GFP positive astrocytes of ACSF only treated
slices (CTRL) displayed minimal colocalization with LC3B-II, both type I and II
astrocytes (revealed by their different morphological aspect) showed a net increase
in the percentage of GFP signal colocalizing with the autophagic marker (Fig. 16AC) These results further corroborate the previous observation obtained in primary
cultures, and indicate that inflammation reliably induce autophagy in cortical
astrocytes in brain slices.

51

Figure 15. Induction of inflammation in acute slices of hGFAP-GFP mice. (A) The utilization of
hGFAP-GFP mice allows visualizing the detailed morphology of the two types of astrocytes
(protoplasmic and stellate) present within cortical layers. Representative confocal pictures of these
two types showing the differences in branching are shown. Bar, 20 m. (B) Schematic description of
the experimental plan for indrucing inflammation in acute slices. (C) Representative confocal pictures
of somatosensory cortical layers I to VI showing the increase in GFP immunoreactivity upon LI
treatment. Bar, 100 m. (D) 3D reconstruction of two selected astrocytes in (C) reveals the fine
morphology of these cells. Bar, 10 m.

52

Figure 16. Inflammation triggers autophagy in astrocytes of cortical brain slices. (A)
Representative confocal pictures of astrocytes taken from acute brain slices. After treatment, slices
were fixed and immunostained for GFP and the autophagic marker LC3BII. Arrowheads point to the
cell bodies in the LC3BII single channel images. Reconstruction of acquired z-stacks is shown in the
lower panels to highlight the colocalization between LC3BII (red) and astrocytic area (grey). Bar, 10
m. Colocalization analysis (Manders coefficient) in protoplasmic (B) or stellate astrocytes (C) from
Ctrl and LI-treated slices.

53

1.9.

Abolishment
accumulation

of
of

the

autophagic

hyperelongated

machinery

results

mitochondria

in

upon

inflammation
To further understand the role of autophagy in mitochondrial quality control during
inflammation, we investigated mitochondrial morphology of astrocytes hampered
in their autophagic machinery for either the elongation (a step exerted by the
molecule Atg7) or the conjugation (in which the molecule Atg4 plays a critical
role) phases of the autophagosome formation. Fig. 17 recapitulates the steps
targeted by the different strategies used in these experiments.
To interfere with Atg7, we performed experiments on astrocytes obtained from
conditional knock-out mice for Atg7 (Atg7fl/fl), a protein involved in the membrane
elongation of the immature autophagosome (Komatsu, Waguri et al. 2005). Once
reaching 60 to 70% of confluency, astrocytes were transduced with retroviruses
encoding for either the recombinase Cre and GFP (Cre virus) or for GFP alone
(control virus). 5 to 6 days after viral transduction, a significant proportion of
astrocytes (more than 60%) also encoded for the reporter gene GFP, allowing to
distinguish between floxed and non-floxed cells (Fig. 18A). We first confirmed the
lack of Atg7 protein from Cre-transduced cultures by performing a western blot for
Atg7: a clear reduction of the protein levels was detectable in floxed cultures,
which indicates that gene deletion and the subsequent depletion of Atg7 occurred
(Fig. 18C). In the following, we analyzed the mitochondrial network of transduced
cells by immunostaining. While transduction with the control GFP-expressing virus
did not perturb the course of mitochondrial rearrangement observed during
inflammation (Fig. 18A-B), with mitochondria acquiring the typical rod-like shape
4 hours after inflammation and recovering by 24 hours, astrocytes transduced with
the Cre-expressing virus exhibited a rather different phenotype. Cre-expressing
astrocytes showed already a mild increase in mitochondrial fragmentation even in
absence of inflammation, which is consistent with the fact that Atg7 deletion in
mammalian cells induces the accumulation of damaged mitochondria over time due
to its role in allowing mitochondrial turn-over under basal conditions (Komatsu,
Waguri et al. 2005). However, following inflammation these floxed astrocytes

54

showed a very unusual mitochondrial network, which was characterized by the

presence of hyper-elongated mitochondria (Fig.18A-B). Such a phenotype was
visible at 4 hour but became mostly prominent 24 hours after LI-treatment, when
the mitochondria of control cells normally returned to a tubular morphology
(Fig.18A-B). To manipulate the conjugation phase of autophagosomal formation,
we ectopically expressed a mCherry-tagged form of Atg4BC74A, in which the
protease Atg4B has been rendered inactive by introducing the point mutation C74A
(Fujita, Hayashi-Nishino et al. 2008). By introducing this construct, autophagy
becomes inhibited since the Atg4B protease is responsible for the cleavage of
LC3B-I into LC3B-II, an essential step in the proper closure and maturation of the
autophagosome (Fujita, Hayashi-Nishino et al. 2008). As shown in Fig. 19,
following the transfection of low amounts of Atg4BC74A-encoding plasmid, reporter
positive (mCherry) control astrocytes showed the typical tubular mitochondrial
network, indicating that this mutant protein does not cause significant toxicity to
these cells under basal conditions. Interestingly, inflammation of astrocytes lacking
autophagy again resulted in the characteristic appearance of hyperelongated
mitochondria, as observed following deletion of Atg7. This phenotype was even
more dramatic 24 hours after induction of inflammation, with transfected cells
showing a complete disruption of the typical mitochondrial network, which was
instead replaced by clusters of hyperelongated mitochondria.
Therefore, impairment of the autophagic machinery achieved by 2 indipendent
experimental approaches resulted in a very similar phenotype when inflammation
was induced: astrocytes did not respond by rearranging their mitochondrial network
as we observed in presence of functional autophagy. Rather, mitochondria - which
we observed to be normally fated to mitophagy and targeted to lysosomes at later
stages were spared from fragmentation through hyper-elongation, a mechanism
which has recently been described in cell lines during starvation-induced cellular
stress (Gomes, Di Benedetto et al. 2011; Gomes and Scorrano 2011; Rambold,
Kostelecky et al. 2011). Here, however, this second pathway of mitochondrial
rearrangement became prominent only once autophagy (and therefore mitophagy)

55

was impaired, providing a new mechanism for the maintenance of damaged

mitochondrial once their turn-over becomes impaired.

56

Figure 17. The autophagic machinery Scheme depicting the steps and key proteins required for the
generation of an autophagosome. Atg4 and Atg7 (red rectangles) represent the critical protein
manipulated in this study to block autophagy.

57

58

Figure 18. Inhibition of autophagy via conditional deletion of Atg7 causes hyperelongation of
mitochondria following inflammation (A) Representative confocal pictures of astrocytes derived
from Atg7 flox mice and transduced with a GFP (control) or CRE-GFP encoding virus. Astrocytes
were subjected to inflammation and the morphology of their mitochondria (immunostained for
Tom20) compared with untreated astrocytes. Inset show merged channels (GFP = green, Tom20 =
red). Lower panels depict magnifications of the indicated white rectangles. While GFP-transduced
astrocytes return to a normal mitochondrial network 24 hours post-inflammation, CRE expressing
astrocytes maintain a hyperelongated network. Bar, 10 m. (B) Quantification of mitochondrial
morphology following viral transduction as illustrated in A. (C) Efficiency of the virus-mediated
knock-out for Atg7 evaluated by western blot.

59

Figure 19. Inhibition of autophagy by impairing Atg4 produces hyperelongated mitochondria

following inflammation (A) Confocal pictures of astrocytes transfected with a plasmid encoding
DsRed and a dominat negative mutated isoform of Atg4 (Atg4C74A), which blocks the autophagic
cascade. Astrocyes were fixed and immunostained for Tom20 to visualize mitochondria. Starting from
4 hours post-inflammation, mitochondria appear hyperelongated. Bar, 10 m. (B) Quantification of
mitochondrial morphology following trasfection of a control plasmid or the Atg4C74A plasmid shown
in A (indicated with the letter T). The graph demonstrates that hyperelongated mitochondria persist
until 24 hours, when astrocytes transfected with the control plasmid mainly rescue their mitochondrial
network.

60

1.10. Inflamed astrocytes mediate neuronal degeneration

It has been recently demonstrated that activation of microglia is a critical step in
inflammation-mediated neurotoxicity (Block ML et al 2007). We then investigated if
astrocytes, like microglia, could contribute to this neurotoxicity during the
inflammatory response. To this aim, we established co-cultures and conditioned
media experimental models to dissect out a possible contribution of astrocytes in
preserving neuronal viability or promoting neurodegeneration. The main difference
between these two models is that while in the co-culture system the direct contact
between neurons and astrocytes mimics a more physiological situation, the growth of
neurons in medium conditioned from separated cultures of astrocytes allows to
selectively study the effects mediated by secreted astrocytic factors which are
released into the medium (Fig. 20A).
First of all, we tested whether the inflammatory molecule that we used in the course
of this study could have an impact on the viability of pure neuronal cultures. Neurons
were treated with either LI or IL-1, IL-6 and TNF- for up to three days, after
which we quantified the induction of active-caspase3, a well used marker for
assessing apoptosis (Bossy-Wetzel and Green 1999). Only LI treatment revealed to
produce no detectable effects on neuronal viability, while all the others citokines
produced an increase in neuronal cell death indicating that they are toxic to neurons
as previously reported (Cunningham, Murray et al. 1996; Friedlander, Gagliardini et
al. 1996; Carlson, Wieggel et al. 1999). Based on these results, we decided to use LI
for testing the effect of inflamed astrocytes on neuronal viability both in conditioned
media experiments and in co-cultures experiments.
Fig. 20A summarizes the paradigms used for the two experimental approaches. In
conditioned media experiments, astrocytes were treated with LI for either 8h or 24h.
This medium was then transferred into neuronal cultures and the amount of apoptosis
was quantified 72 hours later. Under these conditions, we could detect comparable
numbers of activated caspase-3 positive neurons in cultures receiving conditioned
media from either untreated or inflamed astrocytes (Fig. 20C). However, when
neurons were grown in direct contact with astrocytes (co-cultures), the pre-treatment
or co-treatment of these astrocytes with LI caused a dramatic increase in the number

61

of activated caspase-3 neurons (Fig. 20B), independently of whether inflammation

was induced one day before (Day 0 = D0) or immediately after (Day 1 = D1) plating
the neurons onto the astrocytic layer (D0, fold increase vs control = 1.5800.116, P<
0.01; D1, fold increase vs control = 1.8330.154, P< 0.001).
Moreover, experiments conducted in co-cultures revealed that also neuronal
morphology was affected by astrocytic inflammation: by staining co-cultures for the
neuronal marker MAP-2, which discloses the morphology of cells, neurite outgrowth
appeared halted upon induction of inflammation in comparison with neurons grown
onto untreated astrocytes (Fig. 20E). These results suggest that the functional
changes induced by inflammation in astrocytes, and possibly the alterations in their
energetic status or in their release of potential short-range toxic mediators such as
NO or mitochondrial ROS, can impact the survival of neurons and therefore
contribute to their degeneration during the inflammatory reaction.

62

Direct co-cultivation

Conditioned media

63

Figure 20. Inflamed astrocytes mediate degeneration of co-cultured neurons (A) Schemes
depicting the two methods used for assessing the putative contribution of inflamed astrocytes to
neurodegeneration. The left scheme illustrate the co-coltures of cortical astrocytes and neurons; on the
right, the method used for testing the contribution of conditioned media deriving from inflamed
astrocytes. The experimental plan is illustrated for both methods on the bottom. (B, C) Quantification
of Caspase-3 active (Casp3) positive neurons (identified through immunostaing for neuronal marker
beta-3 tubulin) obtained following co-cultures (B) or the conditioned media (C). The amount of
neuronal death following direct treatment of neurons with LI is shown in C. (D) Representative
picture showing a Casp3 positive neuron undergoing degeneration. Bar, 20 m. (E) Confocal pictures
of beta-3 tubulin positive neurons in co-cultures with control or inflamed astrocytes. Neurons display
evident reduction of their neuritic length and a less prominent morphological development. Bar, 50
m.

64

2. Discussion
The major finding of the present study is that cortical astrocytes subjected to
pro-inflammatory stimuli undergo a rapid rearrangement of their mitochondrial
network. In turn, this mitochondrial rearrangement initiates the autophagic response
aimed at degrading damaged mitochondria. Strikingly, astrocytes do not die upon
inflammation, consistent with the fact that their mitochondrial pool is maintained and
gradually returns toward a normal tubular network by 24 hours post-inflammation.
The original observation that the exogenous application of individual
inflammatory molecules (such as LPS, IFN-, TNF-, IL-1 and IL-6) is sufficient
to induce mitochondrial remodeling, strongly suggests that astrocytes immediately
reorganize their metabolism and cellular architecture once cytokines become released
(for example by microglia) in the local environment during neuroinflammation. This
mitochondrial rearrangement, which appears to terminate within 24 hours from the
insult in vitro, may be part of an intracellular metabolic pathway specific to signal an
ongoing inflammatory process in astrocytes. Eventually, astrocytes could then
employ mitochondria to continuosly probe the extent of inflammation and locally
secreted cytokines. As astrocytes not only provide a trophic support for neurons, but
also influence their synaptic transmission and regulate as well the flux of blood by
controlling the diameter of local capillaries, their capability to quickly monitor the
local amount of pro-inflammatory molecules via mitochondria could allow them to
co-regulate synaptic and neuronal viability from the very beginning of an
inflammatory process. On the other side, by means of time-lapse single-cell imaging,
we demonstrated that mitochondria rapidly reduce their length, motility and
progressively cluster toward the perinuclear region of the cells in vitro. Although the
morphology of astrocytes in cultures clearly differs from their native morphology in
the brain, where they show profuse branching and contacting of neuronal synapses
and cell bodies, these observations indicate that once altered upon inflammation, the
mitochondria located in whichever process of the cell will tend to remain segregated
in that specific process, thus avoiding the rest of the mitochondrial network to
become affected by this phenomenon. This speculation is further supported by
experiments in which we analyzed the fusion proficiency of these organelles

65

following inflammation. As the mitochondria of inflamed astrocytes severely reduce

their capability to fuse with other mitochondria, it is conceivable to imagine that
astrocytes also initiate safe mechanisms in order to isolate the perturbed subcellular region adjacent to the inflamed tissue and, at the same time, to maintain
functional the remaining pool of mitochondria. With a similar mechanism, Ca++
transients in astrocytes follow a sub-cellular regionalized pattern of appearance.
Recent works demonstrate that, within the tissue, astrocytes respond to synaptic
activity of neurons with local calcium transient confined to the region of the
astrocytic process closer to the activated synapse (Bernardinelli, Salmon et al. 2011;
Di Castro, Chuquet et al. 2011). Since Ca++ elevations represent the principal way of
signaling and communication of astrocytes, it would be interesting to investigate if
these transients are among the very first intracellular events associated with the
mitochondrial rearrangement observed during inflammation.
It is interesting to note that the mitochondrial rearrangement induced by
inflammation appears to be dependent on the up-regulation of iNOS, and therefore
from NO production. The expression of iNOS is indeed widely used as a marker to
assess if and when inflammation is taking place (Bal-Price and Brown 2001;
Borutaite, Hope et al. 2006). Furthermore, NO represents a classical gaseous second
messenger which can control numerous intracellular signaling pathways (Almeida,
Almeida et al. 2001; Almeida and Branco 2001; Bal-Price and Brown 2001; Bolanos,
Garcia-Nogales et al. 2001; Bossy-Wetzel and Lipton 2003; Barsoum, Yuan et al.
2006), but has as well the capacity to diffuse extracellularly thereby acting in a
paracrine fashion on neighboring cells, such as other glial cells and neurons, or on
blood vessels, in which NO mediates vasodilatation (Gordon, Jain et al. 2002). The
observation that a pharmacological inhibitor of iNOS, such as L-NAME, can prevent
astrocytes from altering their mitochondrial dynamics, suggests that (i) NO is likely
to be upstream of this rearrangement and (ii) the same second messenger used to
communicate with other local cells is involved in cell-autonomous mitochondrial
rearrangements. The effect observed here on mitochondrial morphology is not totally
unexpected. Indeed, a role of exogenously administered NO (via NO donors) and
cyclic GMP (as it represents one of the intracellular mediators of NO) was previously

66

reported to induce mitochondrial fission in cultures of cortical neurons and in

myogenic precursors, in which this NO-mediated effect on mitochondria was linked
to the action of the GTPase Drp1 (Barsoum, Yuan et al. 2006; Yuan, Gerencser et al.
2007). As the use of Drp1 mutants prevented fission during NO application, whereas
overexpression of Drp1 elicited fission even independently of NO (Barsoum, Yuan et
al. 2006), the data provided by these papers and translated in a context of
inflammation would suggest here that the rapid production of NO followed by cyclic
GMP could ultimately determine an unbalance of the physiological fusion-to-fission
ratio and therefore promote mitochondrial fragmentation or the appearance of rodlike mitochondria. This scenario would explain why, following application of an
inhibitor of iNOS (L-NAME), mitochondrial fragmentation is prevented during
inflammation.
Clearance of permanently damaged mitochondria via mitophagy
The second most important observation of this study is that astrocytes
undergo autophagy after induction of inflammation, both in cultures and in brain
slices. Contrary to many reports in which a massive autophagy becomes detectable
under stress conditions (Mizushima, Levine et al. 2008; Criollo, Senovilla et al.
2010; Mazure and Pouyssegur 2010), starvation (Schwarzer, Dames et al. 2006; Jia
and Levine 2007; He and Klionsky 2009) or during cellular degeneration (Debnath,
Baehrecke et al. 2005; Adi-Harel, Erlich et al. 2010; Danial, Gimenez-Cassina et al.
2010; Dorn 2010), here this process can be reliably detected within 2-4 hours postinflammation, peaks around 8 hours but gradually returns to baseline levels after 24
hours. This unique pattern of activation and deactivation triggered for further
investigation and led to the question whether autophagy in astrocytes was linked to
the time-matched mitochondrial rearrangement observed after treatment with proinflammatory molecules. Surprisingly, many of the fragmented mitochondria
observed in these conditions were indeed targeted by nascent autophagosomes. In
addition, at later time-points, when the majority of the mitochondrial network was reestablished, those mitochondria which maintained an altered morphology were also

67

immunoreactive for lysosomal markers, suggesting their degradation via the

mitophagic process.
In the last years, many papers have reported mitophagy as a common
mechanism used by cells to get rid of damaged mitochondria, a conclusion often
supported by electron-microscopic studies in which clearly altered mitochondria
appeared contained within autophagosomal structures (Klionsky, Abeliovich et al.
2008). In many of these studies, however, such an extent of autophagy has been
obtained following extensive detrimental treatments of cell lines which do not allow
for the cells themselves to recover after the initial insult, with the problem that any
subsequent interpretation regarding the functional role of mitophagy becomes more
complicated if not impossible. Here, inflammation of astrocytes does not cause their
death. This allowed us to monitor the autophagic response across time until its
complete resolution, both in fixed cells and in live imaging. In addition, blockage of
autophagy through removal of specific key proteins, such as Atg4 or Atg7, revealed
that astrocytes deviate from a more physiological course of mitochondrial clearance
(mitophagy) toward the establishment of a hyperfused mitochondrial network when
mitophagy is not available. This effect is reminiscent of what has been observed in
cell lines or mouse embryonic fibroblasts when cells were subjected to stressful
conditions such as nutrients deprivation (Rambold, Kostelecky et al. 2011; Rambold,
Kostelecky et al. 2011) or proapoptotic stimuli such as UV irradiation (Tondera,
Grandemange

et

al.

2009).

In

these

cases,

cells

reacted

with

an

hyperelongation/fusion of mitochondria with the aim of either maintaining their ATP

production (Tondera, Grandemange et al. 2009; Rambold, Kostelecky et al. 2011) or
sparing them from mitophagy (Tondera, Grandemange et al. 2009), therefore
sustaining cell viability. In the case of astrocytes and inflammation, however, it was
the genetic abrogation of the autophagic response which initiated the hyperfusion of
mitochondria, as if the cells decided to adopt this modality to avoid accumulating
damaged mitochondria. It is conceivable that, rather than having clusters of
mitochondria potentially harmful for the astrocyte (as they produce high amounts of
ROS), their reorganization into an hyperfused network may help, to some extent, (i)
in maintaining mitochondrial functionality and (ii) in reducing the risk to generate

68

loci of high radicals production. Future studies will be required to assess ROS
production and mitochondrial potential in hyperelongated mitochondria of
autophagy-deficient astrocytes following inflammation.

Potential physiological relevance of the astrocytic response to inflammation for their

cross-talk with neurons
To date, all described functions exerted by astrocytes are ultimately aimed to
modulate the excitability, metabolism and homeostasis of neurons. Here, we sought
to examine, after inflammation, which potential effects astrocytes could determine on
neuronal survival in culture. A plethora of molecules released by astrocytes are
known to regulate neuronal physiology (Volterra and Meldolesi 2005; Barres 2008),
some of which possess a remarkably reduced half-life, such as ROS and RNS
(Hirrlinger and Dringen 2010). Therefore, we established two experimental methods
to address the issue of how astrocytes could impact neuronal viability: in the first
one, we co-cultured inflamed astrocytes with cortical neurons; alternatively, we
studied the influence of conditioned media derived from inflamed astrocytes on
separate pure neuronal cultures. Conspicuously, we observed an increase in neuronal
apoptosis upon inflammation only when the two cell types were co-cultured,
suggesting that astrocytes release compounds toxic for neurons under this condition,
which action requires a direct contact with neurons. This effect was not observed in
conditioned media experiments, strengthening the idea that neither peptides nor
classical gliotransmitters which function can instead be reliably studied in this kind
of experiments play a role in the neuronal apoptosis observed in co-cultures.
An important pre-requisite for reaching appropriate conclusions from these
experiments concerns the possibility that neurons directly sense, and in turn react to,
the applied pro-inflammatory molecules used in this study. Indeed, if neurons would
respond to these by undergoing apoptosis in a cell-autonomous manner, the
subsequent observed effect would be more difficult to be dissected. To this aim, we
first tested the reactivity of neurons to cytokines and to LPS. Indeed, we observed a
direct effect of TNF-, IL-1 and IL-6 on neuronal viability (data not shown), but no

69

clear effect was induced by direct administration of LPS and IFN- (at the used
concentrations). Based on these observations, we decided to perform co-cultures and
conditioned media experiments only with this last combination of molecules, thus
restricting the cause of any following observed effect to the action of astrocytes. Yet,
whether such a role of inflamed astrocytes in mediating neuronal death represents the
consequence of a rather high concentration of LPS and IFN- used in vitro is not
clear. Indeed, this may not be case in vivo, where a more physiological inflammation
process taking place is characterized by the action of other cell types than astrocytes,
playing a role by both secreting and removing pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators
(Farina, Aloisi et al. 2007; Barres 2008). Therefore, one possibility is that the model
here proposed following in vitro co-culturing of astrocytes and neurons closely
resembles a chronic inflammation, in which a massive and prolonged secretion of
pro-inflammatory mediators takes place. Again, future studies will be required to
understand (i) whether the pro-neurodegenerative role of inflamed astrocytes
depends to some extent on the excessive mitochondrial release of radicals and (ii) if
astrocytes, rather than promote, buffer local inflammatory molecules by undergoing
autophagy and thus protecting nearby neurons from a similar detrimental insult.

70

MATERIALS AND METHODS

1.

Mice

Time-pregnant C57B6 mice, C57B6 pups and hGFAP-GFP mice (provided by

Magdalena Goetz, LMU Munchen, Germany; ref) were used in this study. All animal
procedures were performed in accordance with the Italian, Bavarian and European
Union guidelines and were approved by out institutional animal care and utilization
committee.
2.

Viral Vectors

The murine Moloney leukemia virus (MoMulV)- based vector CAG-GFP (Zhao et
al, 2006) and CAG-GFP IRES-Cre were provided by Matteo Bergami (LMU
Munchen, Germany). The final measured titer was about 5x107 viral particles/ml.
3.

Cell cultures

Astrocytes. Primary cultures of cortical astrocytes were prepared from postnatal day
1-2 wild-type and Atg7fl/fl mice (provided by T. Misgeld, Technische Universitt,
Munchen, Germany) as previously described (McCarthy and de Vellis 1980).
Briefly, superficial cortical layers were dissected out in chilled 0.1M phosphatebuffer solution (PBS), mechanically triturated in Dulbeccos Modified Eagle
Medium F12 (DMEM-F12, Lonza), filtered with a 75 m cell strainer (Millipore),
plated in plastic flasks (Corning), and mantained in DMEM-F12 with 10% fetal
bovine serum (GIBCO) at 37C in 5% CO2. Flasks were shaked every 3 days and
medium replaced until confluency was reached (about 2-3 weeks after plating). For
experiments conducted

in poli-D-lysine-coated coverslips, astrocytes were

trypsinized and 100,000 cells/coverslip (15 mm, 1) were used for subsequent
experiments.
Neurons. Primary cultures of cortical neurons were prepared from embryonic mice at
embryonic day E15.5 as follows. Superficial cortical layers were dissected out in

71

chilled Hanks Buffer (HBSS, Invitrogen), trypsinized for 20 min at at 37 C in

dissociation medium (200 U of papain, Sigma, in DMEM Glutamax, Invitrogen) ,
and thereafter washed three times in DMEM Glutamax. Cells were then dispersed
with a 2mL pipette and cultivated in DMEM Glutamax onto poli-D-lysine-coated
coverslips for 3h. After this time, medium was changed into growth medium,
composed of Neurobasal (Invitrogen)+ 1% of B27 supplement (Invitrogen)+ 0.05
mM Glutamine (Invitrogen).
Co-cultures of astrocytes and neurons. Primary cultures of cortical neurons were
prepared as reported above, with the following modifications. After dissociation of
the cortex with papain, cells (45,000/ml) were resuspended directly in
Neurobasal+B27 and plated onto a layer of astrocytes previously equilibrated 24h in
Neurobasal+B27.
Conditioned media. Primary cultures of cortical neurons and astrocytes were
prepared separately as reported above. Astrocytes cultures were first equilibrated 24h
in Neurobasal+B27, then treated for the given time-points. Medium derived from
either untreated or treated astrocytes was then transferred to the neurons.
4.

Western blot

Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to PVDF membranes using

standard procedures. After blocking unspecific sites, the membranes were incubated
overnight at 4C with mouse -beta actin (Sigma), rabbit -LC3 (Sigma), rabbit iNOS (Abcam), rabbit -Atg7 (Abcam), goat -HSP60 (Santa Cruz) primary
antibodies. Detection was performed after 60 min incubation with secondary
antibodies conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (Promega) and subsequent
conversion with a chemiluminescent substrate (GE-Healthcare).
5.

Immunocytochemistry and Immunohistochemistry

Coverslips. Cells were fixed with 4% PFA (Sigma) in PBS, permeabilized for 5 min
in 0.1% Triton X-100 (Sigma) in PBS and incubated overnight in 3% BSA (Sigma)
in PBS containing the following primary antibodies: chicken or mouse anti-GFAP

72

1:1000 (Millipore), rabbit anti-LC3BII 1:300 (Cell Signaling), rat anti-Lamp2

(Abcam), rabbit anti-TOM20 1:1000 (Santa Cruz), chicken anti-GFP (Aves
Laboratory) mouse anti-3-tubulin 1:1000 (Millipore), rabbit anti-activated caspase3 1:300 (Cell Signaling), rabbit anti-MAP2 1:1000 (Millipore), mouse anti-SMI132
1:500 (Millipore). Cells were then incubated for 2 h at room temperature with
secondary antibodies conjugated with FITC, Cy3, Cy5 (Chemicon), Alexa 488, 546,
and 647 (Invitrogen), mounted in Aqua Poly/Mount (Polysciences, Inc.), and
analyzed by confocal microscopy.
Slices. Slices were permeabilized for 10 min in 0.5% Triton X-100 (Sigma) in PBS
and incubated overnight in 3% BSA (Sigma) in PBS containing primary antibodies
chicken or mouse anti-GFAP 1:1000 (Millipore), rabbit anti-LC3BII 1:300 (Cell
Signaling), chicken anti-GFP (Aves Laboratory). Slices were incubated for 2 h at
room temperature with secondary antibodies conjugated with FITC, Cy3, Cy5
(Chemicon), Alexa 488, 546, and 647 (Invitrogen), mounted in Aqua Poly/Mount
(Polysciences, Inc.), and analyzed by confocal microscopy. Immunoreactivity was
evaluated using a confocal laser-scanning microscope (LSM710; Zeiss Laboratories)
equipped with 405, 488, 561 and 633nm laser lines and 10x, 25x, 40x, and 63x
objectives (Zeiss).
6.

Time-lapse video-imaging

Cortical astrocytes grown on glass coverslips were transfected 48h before imaging.
Time-lapse imaging was conducted using a Zeiss Observer z1 equipped with a
Yokogawa CSU CCD camera and a spinning disc unit. The lasers used had
excitation wavelenght at 488 and 540 nm. During acquisition, the laser beam and
exposure times were kept as lowest as possible to reduce photo-toxicity. Images were
acquired using a 63X-1.3NA water immersion objective. Typical experiments were
conducted for 8-12h, in which z-stack series were acquired every 3-4 min. Video
images were analyzed with ImageJ (NIH). For mitochondrial motility experiments,
images were acquired for a total duration of 10 min spaced by 30 sec each, in order
to track individual mitochondria.

73

7.

Cytofluorimetric evaluation of apoptosis and necrosis.

Apoptotic and necrotic events in astrocytes upon inflammation were determined by

flow cytometry (Guava EasyCyte Mini, Guava Technologies,Hayward, CA), using
the Guava Nexin reagent (Guava Technologies,Hayward, CA), according to the
instruction provided by the manufacturer. Guava Nexin reagent contains annexin Vphycoerythrin (PE), that detects the residues of phosphatidylserine on the external
membrane of apoptotic cells, and the cell impermeant dye 7-amino-actinomycin D
(7-AAD), to discriminate dead ones.
Briefly, astrocytes treated with LI at different time-points were trypsinyzed and
resuspended in equal amounts of PBS and Guava Nexin Reagent. Cells were allowed
to stain 20 min at room temperature in the dark before measurements were taken.
8.

ATP assay

Cellular steady state ATP levels were measured using the luciferase-based ATP
Bioluminescence assay kit HS II (Roche Applied Science), according to the
manufacturers instructions. Astrocytes were treated for the given time-points and,
where indicated, medium was replaced with a 3mM glucose medium (low glucose)
24h before harvesting the cells. Bioluminescence, indicative of the ATP content, was
measured using a LB96V luminometer (Berthold Technologies) and normalized to
total protein levels.
9.

Nitric oxide production

Intracellular NO production was measured using DAF-FM diacetate (Invitrogen),

according to the protocol provided by the manufacturer. DAF-FM is a
diaminofluorescein derivative, specific for the detection of NO molecules: DAF-FM
diacetate is metabolized by the cellular esterases, and its fluorescence quantum yield
proportionally correlates to the amount of NO present inside the cells. Fluorescence
intensity was measured using a microplate spectrofluorometer (VICTOR3 V
Multilabel Counter, Perkin-Elmer) (exc = 485 nm and em =535 nm).

74

10.

Slice preparation.

hGFAP-TVA male mice (4-6 week old) were anesthetized with CO2 and the brain
was quickly removed into a chilled artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ASCF) saturated
with 95% O2 and 5%CO2 (composition in mM: 125 NaCl, 3 KCl, 1.25 NaH2PO4, 2
CaCl2, 2 MgCl2, 25 NaHCO3 and 25 D-glucose; pH 7.4). Coronal brain slices
containing the somatosensory cortex (250m thick) were prepared by using a vibroslicer (Leica) and maintained at 28C for 1h after cutting, followed by additional 1h
at room temperature. Slices were then transferred into a home-made incubation
chamber and incubated for 8h into ACSF or ACSF added of LPS (1m/ml).
11.

Quantitative analysis

Colocalization analysis. Immunoreactivity to LC3 was visualized by confocal

microscopy using a 63x objective, with 2x digital magnification. Z-series stacks were
acquired with an interval of 0.3 m between focal planes and processed by
deconvolution. Colocalization between different signals was evaluated by calculating
the Manders coefficient with the ImageJ PlugIn JacoP (NIH).
Mitochondrial motility and speed analysis. Mitochondria (n50 per condition) were
tracked off-line by using the ImageJ PlugIn MTrackJ, and their motility was defined
by the average value of D2P parameter, that indicates the distance travelled by
mitochondria between consecutive frames. Mitochondrial motility was classified in
three different groups, using as a threshold value the median length of an astrocyte
mitochondrion in the shorter axis, that was found to be 0.3 m. Mitochondria were
classified as static, if D2P< 0.3 m; moving, if 0.3 m <D2P< 1 m; highly moving,
if D2P> 1 m. Average speed was calculated by using MTrackJ.
12.

Statistical analysis

The results are presented as means SEM from three different experiments, and the
statistical significance was determined using the unpaired Students t-test.

75

Alternatively, data were analyzed using multiple comparison one-way ANOVA

followed by Dunnetts post hoc test.

76

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank Silvana Hrelia for wonderful and enthusiastic support during my PhD
program. I am also grateful to Konstanze Winklhofer for giving me the possibility to
join her lab in Munich and sharing with me many interesting projects, and Joerg
Tatzelt for scientific discussions and humour. I also thank all the people of my lab in
Bologna, in particular Vincenzo, that I missed during my stay in Munich, and the
girls from Konstanzes and Joergs lab for the nice atmosphere and excellent
scientific discussions. A particular thank to Vignesh and Gabi, who made special my
stay in Munich. Thanks also to Benito for inspiration and lessons of science, life and
Latin. I am grateful to Monika Brill and Thomas Misgeld, for providing Atg7 mice,
Doro for the Atg4 mutant construct, Dominik for teaching me the basics of the
spinning disc microscopy and Magdalena Goetz for scientific suggestions. Thanks
also to the Italian community of the Adolf Butenandt (Alessio&Mara), and to Alex
from the Fish Group for sharing the spinning disc. A very special thank to Matteo,
who taught me love and commitment for science.

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