Open Access

ARTICLE

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin suppresses markers of neuroinflammation and the JAK2/STAT5 pathway in activated microglia

Qiao Zhou^1,2,3,, Nanxue Cui^1,2,3,, Shihai Zhang^1,2,3,#, Miaomiao Zhou^4,#, Younian Xu^1,2,3,#

1 Department of Anesthesiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
2 Institute of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
3 Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, China
4 Anesthesiology department, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
* Qiao Zhou and Nanxue Cui contributed equally to this work and shared the first authorship
# Shihai Zhang Miaomiao Zhou and Younian Xu contributed equally to this work and share the corresponding authorship

* Corresponding Authors: Shihai Zhang, Miaomiao Zhou and Younian Xu, , ,

European Cytokine Network 2023, 34(3), 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2023.0487

Accepted 12 September 2023;

Abstract

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is highly expressed in the central nervous system in response to inflammation, but its exact function remains unclear. In this study, we used a model of LPS-stimulated microglia to investigate the direct impact of TSLP on microglial activation and the underlying mechanism. We measured oxidative stress, expression of microglial activation markers, and inflammatory indexes. The results show that TSLP treatment increased the expression of TSLP receptors and reduced LPS-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and the expression of M1-type markers in microglia. Interestingly, TSLP treatment also influenced the differentiation of microglia towards the M2 type, suppressing LPS-induced activation, mediated by the JAK2/STAT5 pathway. Moreover, TSLP also promoted the expression of macrophage markers in the absence of LPS. These findings support the hypothesis that TSLP plays a role in reducing neuroinflammation by blocking the JAK2/STAT5 pathway induced by LPS, thus indicating a regulatory role in the central nervous system. Targeting this cytokine might provide a novel strategy for controlling an inflammatory response in the central nervous system.

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Keywords

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