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Microglia: biology and pathology

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Abstract

The past 20 years have seen a gain in knowledge on microglia biology and microglia functions in disease that exceeds the expectations formulated when the microglia “immune network” was introduced. More than 10,000 articles have been published during this time. Important new research avenues of clinical importance have opened up such as the role of microglia in pain and in brain tumors. New controversies have also emerged such as the question of whether microglia are active or reactive players in neurodegenerative disease conditions, or whether they may be victims themselves. Premature commercial interests may be responsible for some of the confusion that currently surrounds microglia in both the Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease research fields. A critical review of the literature shows that the concept of “(micro)glial inflammation” is still open to interpretation, despite a prevailing slant towards a negative meaning. Perhaps the most exciting foreseeable development concerns research on the role of microglia in synaptic plasticity, which is expected to yield an answer to the question whether microglia are the brain’s electricians. This review provides an analysis of the latest developments in the microglia field.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr Hua Yao for the electron micrographs and Dr Qing-Shan Xue for the preparation of the schematic drawing.

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  1. Division of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Neurosciences Center, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Manuel B. Graeber

  2. The Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, 94 Mallett Street, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia

    Manuel B. Graeber

  3. Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Wolfgang J. Streit

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Correspondence to Manuel B. Graeber.

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Graeber, M.B., Streit, W.J. Microglia: biology and pathology. Acta Neuropathol 119, 89–105 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-009-0622-0

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