Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41959035›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

HLA-DRB1*15:01 drives sex- and age-dependent microglial activation and neuroimmune signaling.

E M Reyes-Reyes, D Chinnasamy, F Fernandez, M D Trial, V D Nguyen, Q He, C Figueroa, A C Leslie, D Bradford, J P Wiegand and 1 more

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

E M Reyes-ReyesCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
D ChinnasamyCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
F FernandezCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
M D TrialCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
V D NguyenCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Q HeCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
C FigueroaCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
A C LeslieCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
D BradfordCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
J P WiegandCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
K E RodgersCenter for Innovation in Brain Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Funding

Timing of Menopausal Hormone Therapy across Perimenopause to Menopause Transition: Neuroimmune System in BrainP01AG026572 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Fei Yin · 2006 to 2026
$53.7M
Translational Research in Alzheimer's Disease and related Dementias (TRADD)T32AG082631 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · PI ROBERTA EILEEN BRINTON · 2023 to 2026
$1.2M
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG026572NIA NIH HHS T32 AG082631
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) pathway is central to adaptive immunity and immune tolerance, and age-related erosion of these mechanisms is increasingly recognized as a driver of chronic neuroinflammation. The HLA-DRB1*15:01 allele-the strongest genetic risk factor for multiple sclerosis in Caucasians-has been implicated in shaping pathogenic CD4 Methods: We investigated the impact of HLA-DRB1*15:01 expression using a humanized mouse model (HLA mice) and wild-type (WT) controls. Male and female mice were analyzed at 6, 9, and 15 months of age, with endocrine stratification in females. Behavioral testing, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and multiplex cytokine analyses were used to assess cognitive performance, glial activation and oxidative stress, astrocyte-microglia IL-3/IL-3R signaling, endothelial activation, selective immune cell accumulation at CNS borders, tissue organization, and hippocampal cytokine profiles. Results: HLA mice developed age- and sex-dependent cognitive impairment, most pronounced in aged females. HLA-DRB1*15:01 expression promoted progressive microglial activation, characterized by increased CD14 and CD68 expression, elevated mitochondrial oxidative stress, altered astrocyte phenotypes, and enhanced IL-3/IL-3R signaling. Hippocampal axonal and myelin organization was disrupted in aged HLA mice, and this disruption was spatially associated with increased microglial presence. At CNS interfaces, HLA mice exhibited selective immune remodeling, including increased accumulation of CD4 Conclusion: Together, these findings demonstrate that HLA-DRB1*15:01 drives a coordinated, age- and sex-dependent neuroinflammatory program linking behavioral dysfunction, glial activation and oxidative stress, selective immune cell recruitment, endothelial activation, tissue remodeling, and targeted cytokine imbalance. This integrated phenotype provides mechanistic insight into how this major MS risk allele confers vulnerability to chronic neuroinflammation during aging, with heightened impact in females.

Indexed as

agingHLA-DRB1*15:01microglial activationneuroimmune signalingneuroinflammationsex differences

Identifiers

PMID41959035
PMCPMC13061024

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.