Genetic cell ablation reveals clusters of local self-renewing microglia in the mammalian central nervous system.
21.07.2015
Bruttger J, Karram K, Woertge S, Regen T, Marini F, Hoppmann N, Klein M, Blank T, Yona S, Wolf Y, Mack M, Pinteaux E, Mueller W, Zipp F, Binder H, Bopp T, Prinz M, Jung S, Waisman A.
Immunity. 2015;43(1):92-106.
During early embryogenesis, microglia arise from yolk sac progenitors that populate the developing central nervous system (CNS), but how the tissueresident macrophages are maintained throughout the organism's lifespan still remains unclear. Here, we describe a system that allows specific, conditional ablation of microglia in adult mice. Proliferating microglia expressed high amounts of the interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R), and treatment with an IL-1R antagonist during the repopulation phase impaired microglia proliferation. Hence, microglia have the potential for efficient self-renewal without the contribution of peripheral myeloid cells, and IL-1R signaling participates in this restorative proliferation process.
