Neuroimmune characterization of optineurin insufficiency mouse model during ageing

Optineurin is a multifunctional polyubiquitin-binding protein implicated in inflammatory signalling. Optineurin mutations are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), neurodegenerative diseases characterised by neuronal loss, neuroinflammation, and peripheral immune disbalance. However, the pathogenic role of optineurin mutations is unclear. We previously observed no phenotype in the unmanipulated young optineurin insufficiency mice (Optn(470T)), designed to mimic ALS/FTD-linked truncations deficient in polyubiquitin binding. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ageing would trigger neurodegeneration. We performed a neurological, neuropathological, and immunological characterization of ageing wild-type (WT) and Optn(470T) mice. No motor or cognitive differences were detected between the genotypes. Neuropathological analyses demonstrated signs of ageing including lipofuscin accumulation and microglial activation in WT mice. However, this was not worsened in Optn(470T) mice, and they did not exhibit TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) aggregation or neuronal loss. Spleen immunophenotyping uncovered T cell immunosenescence at two years but without notable differences between the WT and Optn(470T) mice. Conventional dendritic cells (cDC) and macrophages exhibited increased expression of activation markers in two-year-old Optn(470T) males but not females, although the numbers of innate immune cells were similar between genotypes. Altogether, a combination of optineurin insufficiency and ageing did not induce ALS/FTD-like immune imbalance and neuropathology in mice.