Reduced loss of mature Oligodendrocytes following Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury in the mouse by Neutralization of Interleukin-1β

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to several secondary consequences impairing patient outcome. Injury to the components of the white matter, the oligodendrocyte population, myelin and axons, associate with post-injury cognitive deficits. Oligodendrocytes (OLs), the myelin-producing cell, are highly vulnerable post-TBI. Lost OLs may be replaced by proliferating oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). A complex inflammatory response is also initiated following TBI, which is an important therapeutic target in TBI. The cytokine, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), is a key mediator of the inflammatory response. When neutralized following experimental TBI, behavioral and histological outcome is improved by unknown mechanisms. Methods: The central fluid percussion injury (cFPI) and sham injury was used in mice at three survival end-points; 2, 7 and 14 days post-injury. Mice were, at 30 min post-injury, randomly administered a neutralizing IL-1β antibody or a control antibody. OPC proliferation (5-ethynyl 2´- deoxyuridine (EdU)/Olig 2 co-labeling) and mature OL cell death was evaluated in injured white matter tracts. In situ hybridization for Olig2 transcripts in EdU positive cells and microglia ramification was also evaluated. Results: Attenuated cell death, indicated by cleaved caspase-3 expression, and OL cell loss was observed in brain-injured animals treated with the IL-1β neutralizing antibody without influencing proliferation of OPCs, the number of Olig2 transcript or the ramification of microglia. Conclusion: Although OPC proliferation was not influenced, IL-1β neutralization reduced oligodendrocyte cell death in diffuse TBI which may partly explain the beneficial outcome observed using this anti-inflammatory treatment.