Microglial Cells in Neurodegenerative Diseases

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 2965

Special Issue Editor

Medical School OWL, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
Interests: the mechanisms of TGF-beta-mediated modulation of microglia functions under physiological and pathological conditions; microglia development/maturation, microglia functions during postnatal CNS development, and microglia in the aged and diseased CNS are addressed using transgenic mouse models
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been shown that microglia significantly change their morphological and functional features during the course of neurodegenerative diseases, thereby contributing to the onset and progression of several CNS pathologies. However, whether microglia reactivity has beneficial or detrimental effects and consequences seems to depend on the particular disease. We aim to clarify the different microglia activation states found in distinct CNS pathologies and their contribution to disease outcomes.

Major questions are whether microglia are essential players for neurodegenerative processes and whether microglia depletion in vivo might be a therapeutic option for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, the understanding of how endogenous and/or exogenous factors or molecules regulate the reactivity of microglia in CNS diseases will be a major purpose of this Special Issue.

Submissions of original research and review manuscripts focusing on microglia activation and the role of microglia in neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cord are welcome. We hope to comprehensively summarize and elucidate the different microglia activation states related to neurodegeneration and hope to increase the overall understanding of microglia in neurodegenerative diseases.

Prof. Dr. Björn Spittau
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Microglia 
  • Neurodegenerative diseases 
  • Disease-associated microglia (DAM) 
  • Microglia activation 
  • Alzheimer's disease 
  • Parkinson's disease 
  • Ischemic stroke

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 1864 KiB  
Article
Characterization of the Leucocyte Immunoglobulin-like Receptor B4 (Lilrb4) Expression in Microglia
by Felix Kretzschmar, Robin Piecha, Jannik Jahn, Phani Sankar Potru and Björn Spittau
Biology 2021, 10(12), 1300; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biology10121300 - 09 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2438
Abstract
As resident innate immune cells of the CNS, microglia play important essential roles during physiological and pathological situations. Recent reports have described the expression of Lilrb4 in disease-associated and aged microglia. Here, we characterized the expression of Lilrb4 in microglia in vitro and [...] Read more.
As resident innate immune cells of the CNS, microglia play important essential roles during physiological and pathological situations. Recent reports have described the expression of Lilrb4 in disease-associated and aged microglia. Here, we characterized the expression of Lilrb4 in microglia in vitro and in vivo in comparison with bone marrow-derived monocytes and peritoneal macrophages in mice. Using BV2 cells, primary microglia cultures as well as ex vivo isolated microglia and myeloid cells in combination with qPCR and flow cytometry, we were able to provide a comprehensive characterization of Lilrb4 expression in distinct mouse myeloid cells. Whereas microglia in vivo display low expression of Lilrb4, primary microglia cultures present high levels of surface LILRB4. Among the analyzed peripheral myeloid cells, peritoneal macrophages showed the highest expression levels of Lilrb4. Moreover, LPS treatment and inhibition of microglial TGFβ signaling resulted in significant increases of LILRB4 cell surface levels. Taken together, our data indicate that LILRB4 is a reliable surface marker for activated microglia and further demonstrate that microglial TGFβ signaling is involved in the regulation of Lilrb4 expression during LPS-induced microglia activation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microglial Cells in Neurodegenerative Diseases)
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