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Exosomal TNF-α mediates voltage-gated Na+ channel 1.6 overexpression and contributes to brain tumor–induced neuronal hyperexcitability
Cesar Adolfo Sanchez Trivino, … , Fabrizia Cesca, Vincent Torre
Cesar Adolfo Sanchez Trivino, … , Fabrizia Cesca, Vincent Torre
Published August 1, 2024
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2024;134(18):e166271. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI166271.
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Research Article Neuroscience Oncology Article has an altmetric score of 1

Exosomal TNF-α mediates voltage-gated Na+ channel 1.6 overexpression and contributes to brain tumor–induced neuronal hyperexcitability

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Abstract

Patients affected by glioma frequently experience epileptic discharges; however, the causes of brain tumor–related epilepsy (BTRE) are still not completely understood. We investigated the mechanisms underlying BTRE by analyzing the effects of exosomes released by U87 glioma cells and by patient-derived glioma cells. Rat hippocampal neurons incubated for 24 hours with these exosomes exhibited increased spontaneous firing, while their resting membrane potential shifted positively by 10–15 mV. Voltage clamp recordings demonstrated that the activation of the Na+ current shifted toward more hyperpolarized voltages by 10–15 mV. To understand the factors inducing hyperexcitability, we focused on exosomal cytokines. Western blot and ELISAs showed that TNF-α was present inside glioma-derived exosomes. Remarkably, incubation with TNF-α fully mimicked the phenotype induced by exosomes, with neurons firing continuously, while their resting membrane potential shifted positively. Real-time PCR revealed that both exosomes and TNF-α induced overexpression of the voltage-gated Na+ channel Nav1.6, a low-threshold Na+ channel responsible for hyperexcitability. When neurons were preincubated with infliximab, a specific TNF-α inhibitor, the hyperexcitability induced by exosomes and TNF-α was drastically reduced. We propose that infliximab, an FDA-approved drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, could ameliorate the conditions of glioma patients with BTRE.

Authors

Cesar Adolfo Sanchez Trivino, Renza Spelat, Federica Spada, Camilla D’Angelo, Ivana Manini, Irene Giulia Rolle, Tamara Ius, Pietro Parisse, Anna Menini, Daniela Cesselli, Miran Skrap, Fabrizia Cesca, Vincent Torre

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Figure 6

Exosomal TNF-α induces Nav1.6 overexpression.

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Exosomal TNF-α induces Nav1.6 overexpression.
(A) Lysates of HA and U87 ...
(A) Lysates of HA and U87 exosomes were analyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotting (left) using anti–TNF-α and ALIX antibodies. Quantification of TNF-α (right) was obtained by normalization to the exosome marker ALIX and is reported as percentage with respect to HA (n = 3; **P < 0.01, 2-tailed t test). (B) Quantification of TNF-α in U87 and patients S496 and S471’s exosomes using ELISA (n = 3 cultures). (C–G) Real-time PCR quantification of Scn1a, Scn2a, Scn3a, Scn8a, and Scn9a in hippocampal neurons treated with U87 exosomes (Exo U87), TNF-α, U87 exosomes plus infliximab pretreatment, and TNF-α plus infliximab pretreatment. (H) Real-time PCR quantification of Scn8a using patient S496’s exosomes. Blue dashed line represents gene expression under control conditions, set to 1. Each gene is normalized to the housekeeping Gapdh gene. n = 3 cultures. (I) Hippocampal neurons were exposed to control (CTR), U87, patient S58, and patient S496 exosomes; fixed; and stained with anti-Nav1.6 (red channel), anti–βIII-tubulin (green channel), and DAPI to stain nuclei (blue channel). Scale bars: 50 μm. (J) Quantification of the experiment in I reported as corrected total cell fluorescence (CTCF). n = 6 coverslips from 2 dissections. Each point represents the average of 4 fields acquired for each coverslip. All data are shown as mean with SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, 1-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s post hoc test. (K) Representative current clamp recordings from a treated neuron in the presence of increasing amounts of zandatrigine. Zandatrigine 250 nM blocked the spontaneous AP firing; this effect was partially reversible following blocker removal. (L) Quantification of the zandatrigine effect on RMP. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis followed by Bonferroni-corrected Dunn’s test, n = 5.

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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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