Differential proteomic analysis of astrocytes and astrocytes-derived extracellular vesicles from control and rai knockout mice: insights into the mechanisms of neuroprotection

Reactive astrocytes are a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease including multiple sclerosis. It is widely accepted that astrocytes may adopt alternative phenotypes depending on a combination of environmental cues and intrinsic features in a highly plastic and heterogeneous manner. However, we still lack a full understanding of signals and associated signaling pathways driving astrocyte reaction and of the mechanisms by which they drive disease. We have previously shown in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model that deficiency of the molecular adaptor Rai reduces disease severity and demyelination. Moreover, using primary mouse astrocytes, we showed that Rai contributes to the generation of a pro-inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) microenvironment through the production of nitric oxide and IL-6 and by impairing CD39 activity in response to soluble factors released by encephalitogenic T cells. Here, we investigated the impact of Rai expression on astrocyte function both under basal conditions and in response to IL-17 treatment using a proteomic approach. We found that astrocytes and astrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles contain a set of proteins, to which Rai contributes, that are involved in the regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination, nitrogen metabolism, and oxidative stress. The HIF-1α pathway and cellular energetic metabolism were the most statistically relevant molecular pathways and were related to ENOA and HSP70 dysregulation.