Versican promotes T helper 17 cytotoxic inflammation and impedes oligodendrocyte precursor cell remyelination

Ghorbani and colleagues describe versican-V1 as an inhibitor of remyelination using transgenic mice that illuminate new GFP (+) oligodendrocytes. Mechanisms of versican-V1 include the direct inhibition of oligodendrocytes, and elevating Th17 cells. Remyelination failure in multiple sclerosis (MS) contributes to progression of disability. The deficient repair results from neuroinflammation and deposition of inhibitors including chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). Which CSPG member is repair-inhibitory or alters local inflammation to exacerbate injury is unknown. Here, we correlate high versican-V1 expression in MS lesions with deficient premyelinating oligodendrocytes, and highlight its selective upregulation amongst CSPG members in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) lesions modeling MS. In culture, purified versican-V1 inhibits oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and promotes T helper 17 (Th17) polarization. Versican-V1-exposed Th17 cells are particularly toxic to OPCs. In NG2(CreER):MAPT(mGFP) mice illuminating newly formed GFP(+) oligodendrocytes/myelin, difluorosamine (peracetylated,4,4-difluoro-N-acetylglucosamine) treatment from peak EAE reduces lesional versican-V1 and Th17 frequency, while enhancing GFP(+) profiles. We suggest that lesion-elevated versican-V1 directly impedes OPCs while it indirectly inhibits remyelination through elevating local Th17 cytotoxic neuroinflammation. We propose CSPG-lowering drugs as potential dual pronged repair and immunomodulatory therapeutics for MS.

Automated summary

Ghorbani and colleagues have found that versican-V1 acts as an inhibitor of oligodendrocyte regeneration by directly inhibiting oligodendrocytes and promoting the production of Th17 cells. In experimental models of multiple sclerosis, versican-V1 is selectively upregulated among other chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). The study suggests that reducing CSPG levels could be a potential therapeutic approach for promoting repair and modulating the immune response in multiple sclerosis.