1. Receptors, ion channels, and signaling mechanisms underlying microglial dynamics.
- Author
-
Madry C and Attwell D
- Subjects
- Animals, Apoptosis immunology, Astrocytes immunology, Astrocytes pathology, Brain Injuries pathology, Cell Communication immunology, Humans, Microglia pathology, Neurons immunology, Neurons pathology, Synapses immunology, Synapses pathology, Brain Injuries immunology, Cell Movement immunology, Ion Channels immunology, Microglia immunology, Phagocytosis, Receptors, Cell Surface immunology
- Abstract
Microglia, the innate immune cells of the CNS, play a pivotal role in brain injury and disease. Microglia are extremely motile; their highly ramified processes constantly survey the brain parenchyma, and they respond promptly to brain damage with targeted process movement toward the injury site. Microglia play a key role in brain development and function by pruning synapses during development, phagocytosing apoptotic newborn neurons, and regulating neuronal activity by direct microglia-neuron or indirect microglia-astrocyte-neuron interactions, which all depend on their process motility. This review highlights recent discoveries about microglial dynamics, focusing on the receptors, ion channels, and signaling pathways involved., (© 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF