Complete spatial characterisation of N-glycosylation upon striatal neuroinflammation in the rodent brain

Neuroinflammation is an underlying pathology of all neurological conditions, the understanding of which is still being comprehended. A specific molecular pathway that has been overlooked in neuroinflammation is glycosylation (i.e., post-translational addition of glycans to the protein structure). N-glycosylation is a specific type of glycosylation with a cardinal role in the central nervous system (CNS), which is highlighted by congenital glycosylation diseases that result in neuropathological symptoms such as epilepsy and mental retardation. Changes in N-glycosylation can ultimately affect glycoproteins' functions, which will have an impact on cell machinery. Therefore, characterisation of N-glycosylation alterations in a neuroinflammatory scenario can provide a potential target for future therapies.

Together, our data show for the first time the complete profiling of N-glycomic changes in a well-characterised animal model of neuroinflammation. These data represent a pioneering step to identify critical targets that may modulate neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases.

With that aim, the unilateral intrastriatal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the adult rat brain was used as a model of neuroinflammation. In vivo and post-mortem, quantitative and spatial characterisation of both neuroinflammation and N-glycome was performed at 1-week post-injection of LPS. These aspects were investigated through a multifaceted approach based on positron emission tomography (PET), quantitative histology, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), liquid chromatography and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI).

In the brain region showing LPS-induced neuroinflammation, a significant decrease in the abundance of sialylated and core fucosylated structures was seen (approximately 7.5% and 8.5%, respectively), whereas oligomannose N-glycans were significantly increased (13.5%). This was confirmed by MALDI-MSI, which provided a high-resolution spatial distribution of N-glycans, allowing precise comparison between normal and diseased brain hemispheres. Conclusions: Together, our data show for the first time the complete profiling of N-glycomic changes in a well-characterised animal model of neuroinflammation. These data represent a pioneering step to identify critical targets that may modulate neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases.