Homeostasis of Microglia in the Adult Brain: Review of Novel Microglia Depletion Systems Waisman, Ari et al. Trends in Immunology , Volume 36 , Issue 10 , 625 - 636
Abstract:
Microglia are brain macrophages that emerge from early erythro-myeloid pre-cursors in the embryonic yolk sac and migrate to the brain mesenchyme before the blood brain barrier is formed. They seed the brain, and proliferate until they have formed a grid-like distribution in the central nervous system that is maintained throughout lifespan. The mechanisms through which these embryonic-derived cells contribute to microglia homoeostasis at steady state and upon inflammation are still not entirely clear. Here we review recent studies that provided insight into the contribution of embryonically-derived microglia and of adult ‘microglia-like’ cells derived from monocytes during inflammation. We examine different microglia depletion models, and discuss the origin of their rapid repopulation after depletion and outline important areas of future research.