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Article
| Open Access
Microglia are not protective against cryptococcal meningitis
Cryptococcal meningitis is a life-threatening fungal infection. Here, Mohamed et al find that brain resident microglia do not provide protection against this infection and instead are a site where the fungus may access the micronutrient copper.
- Sally H. Mohamed
- , Man Shun Fu
- & Rebecca A. Drummond
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Article
| Open Access
Polarized microtubule remodeling transforms the morphology of reactive microglia and drives cytokine release
Microglia drastically change their morphology when reacting to pathological stimuli. Here, the authors study the molecular responses to stimulation and unravel cytoskeleton remodeling pathways that induce morphological and functional changes.
- Max Adrian
- , Martin Weber
- & Casper C. Hoogenraad
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Article
| Open Access
Pregnancy-induced maternal microchimerism shapes neurodevelopment and behavior in mice
During pregnancy, maternal cells are transferred to the fetus, where they can reach the developing brain. In this study, the authors demonstrate that these maternal cells play an important role in neurodevelopment.
- Steven Schepanski
- , Mattia Chini
- & Petra C. Arck
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Article
| Open Access
Stroke induces disease-specific myeloid cells in the brain parenchyma and pia
How ischaemic stroke affects the brain borders is not fully understood. Here the authors show that a stroke-associated myeloid cell population occurs exclusively in brain parenchyma that shares features with neurodegenerative microglia and blockade of proteins on these cells can ameliorate stroke symptoms.
- Carolin Beuker
- , David Schafflick
- & Jens Minnerup
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Article
| Open Access
Myeloid Krüppel-like factor 2 is a critical regulator of metabolic inflammation
Inflammation contributes to the development of metabolic disease through incompletely understood mechanisms. Here the authors report that deletion of the transcription factor KLF2 in myeloid cells leads to increased feeding and weight gain in mice with concomitant peripheral and central tissue inflammation, while overexpression protects against diet-induced metabolic disease.
- David R. Sweet
- , Neelakantan T. Vasudevan
- & Mukesh K. Jain
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Article
| Open Access
Competitive repopulation of an empty microglial niche yields functionally distinct subsets of microglia-like cells
Brain microglial cells can be replenished by blood-derived monocytes, but many aspects of this repopulation remain unclear. Here the authors show that the brain microglial niche can be replaced both by proliferating, residential microglia as well as differentiated Ly6Chi monocytes, with the latter having overlapping but distinct characteristics.
- Harald Lund
- , Melanie Pieber
- & Robert A. Harris
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Article
| Open Access
TNFα drives mitochondrial stress in POMC neurons in obesity
Long-term consumption of a calorie-rich diet persistently activates brain microglia. Here, the authors show that microglial activity in mouse brains oscillates daily in conjunction with feeding, and that TNFα, secreted by activated microglia, induces mitochondrial stress in satiety-promoting POMC neurons.
- Chun-Xia Yi
- , Marc Walter
- & Matthias H. Tschöp
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Article
| Open Access
MiR-9 promotes microglial activation by targeting MCPIP1
MicroRNA-9 (miR-9) is known for its function in neurogenesis and axonal extension but its role in the immune responses in the brain is not fully understood. Here, Yao et al. show that miR-9 is involved in the activation of microglia, cells of the myeloid origin that are involved in immune surveillance in the brain.
- Honghong Yao
- , Rong Ma
- & Shilpa Buch
The aging mouse CNS is protected by an autophagy-dependent microglia population promoted by IL-34