Microglial subtypes: diversity within the microglial community

Microglia are brain‐resident macrophages forming the first active immune barrier in the central nervous system. They fulfill multiple functions across development and adulthood and under disease conditions. Current understanding revolves around microglia acquiring distinct phenotypes upon exposure t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The EMBO journal Vol. 38; no. 17; pp. e101997 - n/a
Main Authors: Stratoulias, Vassilis, Venero, Jose Luis, Tremblay, Marie‐Ève, Joseph, Bertrand
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02.09.2019
Springer Nature B.V
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Subjects:
Animals
Cell Plasticity
Central nervous system
Communities
disease
EMBO19
EMBO27
Functionals
Heterogeneity
homeostasis
Humans
Macrophages
Microglia
Microglia - classification
Microglia - immunology
Multitasking
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Plastic properties
Plasticity
Review
subtypes
homeostasis
disease
microglia
heterogeneity
subtypes
ISSN:0261-4189, 1460-2075, 1460-2075
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Microglia are brain‐resident macrophages forming the first active immune barrier in the central nervous system. They fulfill multiple functions across development and adulthood and under disease conditions. Current understanding revolves around microglia acquiring distinct phenotypes upon exposure to extrinsic cues in their environment. However, emerging evidence suggests that microglia display differences in their functions that are not exclusively driven by their milieu, rather by the unique properties these cells possess. This microglial intrinsic heterogeneity has been largely overlooked, favoring the prevailing view that microglia are a single‐cell type endowed with spectacular plasticity, allowing them to acquire multiple phenotypes and thereby fulfill their numerous functions in health and disease. Here, we review the evidence that microglia might form a community of cells in which each member (or “subtype”) displays intrinsic properties and performs unique functions. Distinctive features and functional implications of several microglial subtypes are considered, across contexts of health and disease. Finally, we suggest that microglial subtype categorization shall be based on function and we propose ways for studying them. Hence, we advocate that plasticity (reaction states) and diversity (subtypes) should both be considered when studying the multitasking microglia. Graphical Abstract Bertrand Joseph and colleagues discuss the complexities and heterogeneity of the resident macrophage cells that play key roles in CNS immune responses, suggesting function‐based categorizations and ways for further studies.
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ISSN:0261-4189
1460-2075
1460-2075
DOI:10.15252/embj.2019101997