CD300f enables microglial damage sensing, efferocytosis, and apoptotic cell metabolization after brain injury

Autores: 
Luciana Negro-Demontel 1 , Frances Evans 2 , Fabio Andrés Cawen 3 , Zachary Fitzpatrick 4 , Hannah D Mason 4 , Daniela Alí-Ruiz 5 , Rubèn López-Vales 6 , Natalia Lago 6 , Hugo Peluffo 7
Revista (o libro): 
Brain Behav Immun
Año: 
2025
Mes-dia: 
0909
issue, vol, paginas, etc: 
130:106105
doi: 
10.1016/j.bbi.2025.106105
PMID: 
40935207
Abstract: 
Microglia, the resident phagocytes of the central nervous system (CNS), continuously survey the parenchyma and its borders, acting as first responders to brain injury. Their ability to detect and react to environmental changes is mediated by a repertoire of surface receptors collectively known as themicroglial sensome. Here, we identify the lipid-sensing immunoreceptor CD300f as a key regulator of microglial responses to tissue damage and apoptotic cells. Using intravital two-photon microscopy, we show that CD300f-/- microglia fail to extend processes toward a laser-induced cortical lesion, indicating impaired detection of damage-associated cues. In models of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and intracortical injection of apoptotic cells, CD300f deficiency led to reduced recognition and clearance of dying cells resulting in the accumulation of cellular debris within the parenchyma. At later stages, apoptotic remnants were retained within CD300f-/- microglia in vivo and bone marrow-derived macrophages in vitro, suggesting defective intracellular degradation. Proteomic analysis after a controlled cortical injury (CCI) contusion model revealed widespread dysregulation of autophagy-related and metabolic pathways, consistent with impaired efferocytosis and phagolysosomal processing. In parallel, we observed upregulation of the UDP-degrading ectonucleotidase ENTPD6 protein and downregulation of the microglial purinergic receptor P2ry6 mRNA, indicating a dysfunctional UDP-P2RY6 axis that may underlie impaired damage sensing and phagocytic initiation. Despite greater histological preservation, CD300f-/- mice exhibited worse long-term functional recovery after brain injury. Together, these findings highlight CD300f as a key damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) receptor that integrates purinergic signaling, efferocytosis, and metabolic adaptation, highlighting its essential role in coordinating microglial responses to CNS injury.
Afiliaciones: 
1 Department of Histology and Embriology, School of Medicine, UDELAR, Montevideo, 11800, Uruguay; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: Lucianan@wustl.edu. 2 Department of Histology and Embriology, School of Medicine, UDELAR, Montevideo, 11800, Uruguay; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay. 3 Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay; Unitat de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08036, Spain; Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08036, Spain. 4 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. 5 Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay. 6 Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain; Institut de Neurociències, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain. 7 Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay; Unitat de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08036, Spain; Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), 08036, Spain. Electronic address: hugo.peluffo@ub.edu.
Enlace pubmed: 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40935207/
Enlace full text: 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159125003472?via%3Dihub
Cita: 
Negro-Demontel L, Evans F, Cawen FA, Fitzpatrick Z, Mason HD, Alí-Ruiz D, López-Vales R, Lago N, Peluffo H. CD300f enables microglial damage sensing, efferocytosis, and apoptotic cell metabolization after brain injury. Brain Behav Immun. 2025 Sep 9;130:106105. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2025.106105. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40935207.