The neutrophil enzyme myeloperoxidase directly modulates neuronal response after subarachnoid hemorrhage, a sterile injury model

Neutrophil infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) after injury is associated with cognitive deficits. Using a murine model of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), we elucidate the location and mode of action of neutrophils in the CNS. Following SAH, neutrophils infiltrate the meninges, and not the brain parenchyma. Mice lacking functional myeloperoxidase (MPO KO), a neutrophil enzyme, lack both the meningeal neutrophil infiltration and the cognitive deficits associated with delayed cerebral injury from SAH. The re-introduction of biologically active MPO, and its substrate hydrogen peroxide, to the cerebrospinal fluid of MPO KO mice at the time of hemorrhage restores the spatial memory deficit observed after SAH. This implicates MPO as a mediator of neuronal dysfunction in SAH. Using primary neuronal and astrocyte cultures, we demonstrate that MPO directly affects the function of both cell types. Neurons exposed to MPO and its substrate show decreased calcium activity at baseline and after stimulation with potassium chloride. In addition, MPO and its substrate lead to significant astrocyte loss in culture, a result observed in the brain after SAH as well. These results show that, in SAH, the activity of innate immune cells in the meninges modulates the activity and function of the underlying brain tissue.