CPEB1 regulates the inflammatory immune response, phagocytosis, and alternative polyadenylation in microglia.

Microglia are myeloid cells of the central nervous system that perform tasks essential for brain development, neural circuit homeostasis, and neural disease. Microglia react to inflammatory stimuli by upregulating inflammatory signaling through several different immune cell receptors such as the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which signals to several downstream effectors including transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). Here, we show that TAK1 levels are regulated by CPEB1, a sequence-specific RNA binding protein that controls translation as well as RNA splicing and alternative poly(A) site selection in microglia. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binds the TLR4 receptor, which in CPEB1-deficient mice leads to elevated expression of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1), a microglial protein that increases with inflammation, and increased levels of the cytokine IL6. This LPS-induced IL6 response is blocked by inhibitors of JNK, p38, ERK, NFκB, and TAK1. In contrast, phagocytosis, which is elevated in CPEB1-deficient microglia, is unaffected by LPS treatment or ERK inhibition, but is blocked by TAK1 inhibition. These data indicate that CPEB1 regulates microglial inflammatory responses and phagocytosis. RNA-seq indicates that these changes in inflammation and phagocytosis are accompanied by changes in RNA levels, splicing, and alternative poly(A) site selection. Thus, CPEB1 regulation of RNA expression plays a role in microglial function.