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Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?

A change in microglia structure, signaling, or function is commonly associated with neurodegeneration. This is evident in the patient population, animal models, and targeted in vitro assays. While there is a clear association, it is not evident that microglia serve as an initiator of neurodegenerati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Harry, Gaylia Jean
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199265/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34072307
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115818
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author Harry, Gaylia Jean
author_facet Harry, Gaylia Jean
author_sort Harry, Gaylia Jean
collection PubMed
description A change in microglia structure, signaling, or function is commonly associated with neurodegeneration. This is evident in the patient population, animal models, and targeted in vitro assays. While there is a clear association, it is not evident that microglia serve as an initiator of neurodegeneration. Rather, the dynamics imply a close interaction between the various cell types and structures in the brain that orchestrate the injury and repair responses. Communication between microglia and neurons contributes to the physiological phenotype of microglia maintaining cells in a surveillance state and allows the cells to respond to events occurring in their environment. Interactions between microglia and astrocytes is not as well characterized, nor are interactions with other members of the neurovascular unit; however, given the influence of systemic factors on neuroinflammation and disease progression, such interactions likely represent significant contributes to any neurodegenerative process. In addition, they offer multiple target sites/processes by which environmental exposures could contribute to neurodegenerative disease. Thus, microglia at least play a role as a significant other with an equal partnership; however, claiming a role as an initiator of neurodegeneration remains somewhat controversial.
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spelling pubmed-81992652021-06-14 Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other? Harry, Gaylia Jean Int J Mol Sci Review A change in microglia structure, signaling, or function is commonly associated with neurodegeneration. This is evident in the patient population, animal models, and targeted in vitro assays. While there is a clear association, it is not evident that microglia serve as an initiator of neurodegeneration. Rather, the dynamics imply a close interaction between the various cell types and structures in the brain that orchestrate the injury and repair responses. Communication between microglia and neurons contributes to the physiological phenotype of microglia maintaining cells in a surveillance state and allows the cells to respond to events occurring in their environment. Interactions between microglia and astrocytes is not as well characterized, nor are interactions with other members of the neurovascular unit; however, given the influence of systemic factors on neuroinflammation and disease progression, such interactions likely represent significant contributes to any neurodegenerative process. In addition, they offer multiple target sites/processes by which environmental exposures could contribute to neurodegenerative disease. Thus, microglia at least play a role as a significant other with an equal partnership; however, claiming a role as an initiator of neurodegeneration remains somewhat controversial. MDPI 2021-05-29 /pmc/articles/PMC8199265/ /pubmed/34072307 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115818 Text en © 2021 by the author. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Harry, Gaylia Jean
Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title_full Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title_fullStr Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title_full_unstemmed Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title_short Microglia in Neurodegenerative Events—An Initiator or a Significant Other?
title_sort microglia in neurodegenerative events—an initiator or a significant other?
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199265/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34072307
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115818
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