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NEUROIMMUNOLOGY IN 2018

Microglia take centre stage in neurodegenerative disease

  • Year in Review
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From Nature Reviews Immunology

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After many years of being largely neglected in neurodegenerative disease, the past few years have seen a turning point in the field’s view on the impact of microglia in neurological disorders. 2018 has been another exciting year with a number of great contributions in this area.

Key advances

  • LRRC33 regulates the local activation and release of TGFβ1 in the CNS.

  • Senescent microglia and astroglia drive tau phosphorylation and neurofibrillary tangle formation in a non-cell autonomous manner.

  • Mononuclear phagocytes dynamically adapt their phenotype based on astroglial signals.

  • Microglial cell renewal following CSF1R1 inhibition depends on proliferation of surviving CNS-resident microglia.

  • Microglia are involved in TDP43 clearance from neurons and promote recovery from motor symptoms in a mouse model of ALS.

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References

  1. Qin, Y. et al. A milieu molecule for TGFβ required for microglia function in the nervous system. Cell 174, 156–171 (2018).

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  2. Bussian, T. J. et al. Clearance of senescent glial cells prevents tau-dependent pathology and cognitive decline. Nature 562, 578–582 (2018).

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  3. Brelstaff, J. et al. Living neurons with tau filaments aberrantly expose phosphatidylserine and are phagocytosed by microglia. Cell Rep. 24, 1939–1948 (2018).

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Acknowledgements

M.T.H. is supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (SFB 1089, excellence cluster ImmunoSensation) and by the European Union Joint Programme–Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND) consortium InCure (funding code 01ED1505A).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Michael T. Heneka

  2. German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany

    Michael T. Heneka

  3. Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Michael T. Heneka

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  1. Michael T. Heneka
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Correspondence to Michael T. Heneka.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Heneka, M.T. Microglia take centre stage in neurodegenerative disease. Nat Rev Immunol 19, 79–80 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-018-0112-5

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