Cathepsin B inhibition ameliorates leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in the BTBR mouse model of autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders involving deficits in social interaction and communication. Unfortunately, autism remains a scientific and clinical challenge owing to the lack of understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying it. This study aimed to investigate the pathophysiological mechanism underlying leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in autism-related neurovascular inflammation. Male BTBR T+tf/J mice were used as an autism model. The dynamic pattern of leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in mouse cerebral vessels was detected by two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM). Using FACS, RT-PCR, and Western blotting, we explored the expression of cell adhesion molecules, the mRNA expression of endothelial chemokine, the protein levels of cathepsin B, and inflammatory mediators. We found a significant increase in leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in BTBR mice, accompanied by elevated expression of the adhesion molecule neutrophils CD11b and endothelial ICAM-1. Our data further indicate that elevated neutrophil cathepsin B levels contribute to elevated endothelial chemokine CXCL7 levels in BTBR mice. The pharmacological inhibition of cathepsin B reverses the enhanced leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in the cerebral vessels of autistic mice. Our results revealed the prominent role of cathepsin B in modulating leukocyte-endothelial adhesion during autism-related neurovascular inflammation and identified a promising novel approach for autism treatment. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Citation

Huan Wang, Yi-Xuan Yin, Dong-Mei Gong, Ling-Juan Hong, Gang Wu, Quan Jiang, Cheng-Kun Wang, Pablo Blinder, Sen Long, Feng Han, Ying-Mei Lu. Cathepsin B inhibition ameliorates leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in the BTBR mouse model of autism. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics. 2019 Apr;25(4):476-485

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PMID: 30328295

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