Dear Colleagues,

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. They derive from the yolk sack, are long-lived cells and, under normal conditions, their population is not replenished by monocytes but is sustained through self-renewal. They are highly motile cells continuously patrolling their environment through their long extensions, but, as active phagocytes, they can acquire an amoeboid morphology, i.e., enlarged cell body and shorter branches. They guide synapse formation and activity, neurogenesis, myelin sheath formation and neuronal and glial functions through phagocytosis, cell-to-cell contact and secretion of cytokines, trophic factors, and other molecules. Human microglia, in particular, present substantial heterogeneity. In human neurodegenerative disease and murine mouse models, microglial cell subpopulations display heterogeneous features, with detrimental as well as protective functions. Delineating the mechanisms that regulate these functions could pave the way for the development of therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Vasileia Ismini Alexaki
Guest Editor

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• microglia
• Alzheimer's disease
• Parkinson's disease
• multiple sclerosis
• neuroinflammation
• neurodegeneration