中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2025, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (12): 3606-3619.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-24-00063

• 原著:脊髓损伤修复保护与再生 • 上一篇    下一篇

脊髓损伤后小胶质细胞和巨噬细胞的动态演化差异

  

  • 出版日期:2025-12-15 发布日期:2025-03-17

Dynamic development of microglia and macrophages after spinal cord injury

Hu-Yao Zhou1, 2, #, Xia Wang1, 2, #, Yi Li2 , Duan Wang2 , Xuan-Zi Zhou2 , Nong Xiao2, *, Guo-Xing Li1, *, Gang Li1, 3, *   

  1. 1 Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China;  2 Department of Rehabilitation, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Chongqing, China;  3 Molecular Medicine Diagnostic and Testing Center, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
  • Online:2025-12-15 Published:2025-03-17
  • Contact: Gang Li, PhD, ligang@cqmu.edu.cn; Guo-Xing Li, PhD, 645244012@qq.com; Nong Xiao, PhD, xiaonongwl@163.com.

摘要:

脊髓损伤后继发性损伤主要以复杂的炎症反应为特征,而驻留的小胶质细胞和浸润的巨噬细胞在其中发挥着重要的作用。既往研究基于2种细胞结构与功能的相似性将其归为一类,然而,越来越多的研究表明,小胶质细胞与巨噬细胞结构与功能仍存在着一定差异,对疾病进程有着不同的影响。此次实验采用单细胞RNA测序和空间转录组学来确定脊髓损伤后小胶质细胞和巨噬细胞的不同演化过程,结果显示,小胶质细胞在脊髓损伤后立即激活为促炎的表型,并随着疾病进展逐渐转化为抗炎的稳定态。而巨噬细胞在脊髓损伤后可与成纤维细胞和神经元等产生细胞间通讯,并同时具有促炎和神经保护作用,其中促炎作用可能与整合素β2(Itgb2)有关,而神经保护作用可能与制瘤素 M(Osm)通路有关。上述发现经体内实验得到了进一步验证。该研究凸显了脊髓损伤后小胶质细胞和巨噬细胞细胞的动态演化差异,这可能为脊髓损伤炎症机制和潜在的治疗靶点提供新的视角。

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2450-4249 (Gang Li); https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2852-6798 (Guo-Xing Li); 

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5770-4135 (Nong Xiao)

关键词: 脊髓损伤, 生物信息学分析, 单细胞RNA测序, 空间转录组学, 配体-受体相互作用, 急性炎症, 神经炎症, 神经保护, 抑癌抑制素M, 成纤维细胞, CD18, 整合素β2, 创伤性神经系统疾病

Abstract: Secondary injury following spinal cord injury is primarily characterized by a complex inflammatory response, with resident microglia and infiltrating macrophages playing pivotal roles. While previous studies have grouped these two cell types together based on similarities in structure and function, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that microglia and macrophages exhibit differences in structure and function and have different effects on disease processes. In this study, we used single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to identify the distinct evolutionary paths of microglia and macrophages following spinal cord injury. Our results showed that microglia were activated to a pro-inflammatory phenotype immediately after spinal cord injury, gradually transforming to an anti-inflammatory steady state phenotype as the disease progressed. Regarding macrophages, our findings highlighted abundant communication with other cells, including fibroblasts and neurons. Both pro-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of macrophages were also identified; the pro-inflammatory effect may be related to integrin β2 (Itgb2) and the neuroprotective effect may be related to the oncostatin M pathway. These findings were validated by in vivo experiments. This research underscores differences in the cellular dynamics of microglia and macrophages following spinal cord injury, and may offer new perspectives on inflammatory mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.

Key words: acute inflammation, bioinformatics analysis, fibroblast, integrin β2, ligand–receptor interaction, neuroinflammation, oncostatin M, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, spinal cord injury