Microglia Development and function

By Debasis Nayak, Theodore L. Roth, D. McGavern. Annual Review of Immunology, 2014

1,053 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Proper development and function of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) depend critically on the activity of parenchymal sentinels referred to as microglia. Although microglia were first described as ramified brain-resident phagocytes, research conducted over the past century has expanded considerably upon this narrow view and ascribed many functions to these dynamic CNS inhabitants. Microglia are now considered among the most versatile cells in the body, possessing the capacity to morphologically and functionally adapt to their ever-changing surroundings. Even in a resting state, the processes of microglia are highly dynamic and perpetually scan the CNS. Microglia are in fact vital participants in CNS homeostasis, and dysregulation of these sentinels can give rise to neurological disease. In this review, we discuss the exciting developments in our understanding of microglial biology, from their developmental origin to their participation in CNS homeostasis and pathophysiological states such as neuropsychiatric disorders, neurodegeneration, sterile injury responses, and infectious diseases. We also delve into the world of microglial dynamics recently uncovered using real-time imaging techniques.

Subfields: Immunology, Neurology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8328ef4b73771044d38cc466f016a6a23e87ce88

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Immunology

1. Liang Liu
2. Qing-Wu Yang
3. S. Pun
4. Daniel H. Geschwind
5. Helen Y Wang
6. Xiao-Yi Xiong
7. Changsheng Xing
8. Heather H Gustafson

In Neurology

1. Liang Liu
2. Qing-Wu Yang
3. S. Pun
4. Daniel H. Geschwind
5. Xiao-Yi Xiong
6. Heather H Gustafson
7. Chayanon Ngambenjawong

Citations in the corpus

• Progress in tumor-associated macrophage (TAM)-targeted therapeutics (2017, positive): “Microglia, the tissue-resident macrophages within the brain, facilitate neurological synapse pruning for memory maintenance [9] and serve as an immunological defense in an immune privileged environment [10].”
• The Central Nervous System and the Gut Microbiome (2016, background): “Although still controversial, recent reports indicate that microglia are not derived from monocytes but rather develop earlier and express distinct cell markers, different from bone-marrow-derived macrophages (specifically Ly-6CCCR2 monocytes) that replenish the CNS following brain injury (Bennett e”
• The biphasic function of microglia in ischemic stroke (2017, neutral): “Since then, the studies of microglia expanded rapidly and widely (Nayak et al., 2014).”
• Impact of microbiota on central nervous system and neurological diseases: the gut-brain axis (2019, background): “Microglia have been reported to protect brain against various pathological conditions, through the involvement in immune response activation, phagocytosis, and cytokine production [75, 76].”
• Microglia in Alzheimer’s disease (2018, background): “In the normal brain, microglia dynamically extend and retract processes to probe the environment (Nimmerjahn et al., 2005).”
• Functions and mechanisms of microglia/macrophages in neuroinflammation and neurogenesis after stroke. (2016, positive): “Thus, they are considered as one of the most potent modulators of CNS repairand regeneration (Hanisch and Kettenmann, 2007; Nayak et al., 2014).”