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Morphology, localization, and postnatal development of dural macrophages

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Abstract

The dura mater contains abundant macrophages whose functions remain largely elusive. Recent studies have demonstrated the origin, as well as the gene expression pattern, of dural macrophages (dMΦs). However, their histological features have not been explored yet. In this study, we performed immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy to elucidate their precise morphology, localization, and postnatal development in mice. We found that the morphology, as well as the localization, of dMΦs changed during postnatal development. In neonatal mice, dMΦ exhibited an amoeboid morphology. During postnatal development, their cell bodies elongated longitudinally and became aligned along dural blood vessels. In adulthood, nearly half of the dMΦs aligned along blood vessel networks. However, most of these cells were not directly attached to vessels; pericytes and fibroblasts interposed between dMΦs and vessels. This morphological information may provide further indications for the functional significance of dMΦs.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Mr. K. Itakura for his contribution to the electron microscopy experiments, Ms. Y. Konishi for experimental arrangements; Ms. Y. Itai, Ms. K. Muraki, and Ms. N. Tawarayama for their technical assistance; and Ms. A. Asano for secretarial works. We also wish to acknowledge the Division for Medical Research Engineering, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, for the usage of the electron microscope and Imaris software.

Funding

This work was partly supported by KAKENHI (“Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)” 19H03395 to H. Kiyama and “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)” 19K06904 to H. Konishi) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan and grants from The Ichiro Kanehara Foundation to H. Konishi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Anatomy and Neuroscience, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan

    Takehito Sato, Hiroyuki Konishi, Hiromi Tamada & Hiroshi Kiyama

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan

    Takehito Sato & Kimitoshi Nishiwaki

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  1. Takehito Sato
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  2. Hiroyuki Konishi
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  3. Hiromi Tamada
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  4. Kimitoshi Nishiwaki
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  5. Hiroshi Kiyama
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Correspondence to Hiroyuki Konishi or Hiroshi Kiyama.

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All animal experiments complied with the ARRIVE guidelines and carried out in accordance with National Institutes of Health guide for the care and use of Laboratory animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978). Also, our experimental procedures were conducted in accordance with standard guidelines for animal experiments from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, and all protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Committees (approval numbers: 20217, 28303, 29281, 30178, and 31072).

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Sato, T., Konishi, H., Tamada, H. et al. Morphology, localization, and postnatal development of dural macrophages. Cell Tissue Res 384, 49–58 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03346-y

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