Elane mediates neutrophil infiltration into the brain and neuroinflammation

In CUMS mice, neutrophils can infiltrate brain parenchyma and induce neuroinflammatory responses. To identify potential mediators, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of bone marrow neutrophils from mice subjected to CUMS and compared them with those of control mice. Interestingly, among the genes notably associated with neutrophil functions were Elane and Mpo, the crucial granule proteins of neutrophils that mediate chronic inflammation. Our study demonstrated that neutrophil-specific Elane knockout reduced neutrophil infiltration into the brain parenchyma and alleviated neuroinflammation. Elane plays a critical role in modulating the influence of peripheral neutrophils on brain. We performed transcriptional profiling using RNA-seq in flow cytometry sorted neutrophils from the bone marrow of control and CUMS mice