Cited by 149Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsMultiple Sclerosis Research StudiesSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Analyzing microglial phenotypes across neuropathologies: a practical guide

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Schwabenland, Marius, Brück, Wolfgang, Priller, Josef, Stadelmann, Christine, Lassmann, Hans, Prinz, Marco·2021·Acta Neuropathologica

Abstract

As extremely sensitive immune cells, microglia act as versatile watchdogs of the central nervous system (CNS) that tightly control tissue homeostasis. Therefore, microglial activation is an early and easily detectable hallmark of virtually all neuropsychiatric, neuro-oncological, neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. The recent introduction of novel high-throughput technologies and several single-cell methodologies as well as advances in epigenetic analyses helped to identify new microglia expression profiles, enhancer-landscapes and local signaling cues that defined diverse previously unappreciated microglia states in the healthy and diseased CNS. Here, we give an overview on the recent developments in the field of microglia biology and provide a practical guide to analyze disease-associated microglia phenotypes in both the murine and human CNS, on several morphological and molecular levels. Finally, technical limitations, potential pitfalls and data misinterpretations are discussed as well.

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    “Histopathological examination of the hippocampal parenchyma revealed microgliosis17 in aged mice, which was reduced after STING inhibition (Fig. 2a).”

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Authors
Schwabenland, M., Brück, W., Priller, J., Stadelmann, C., Lassmann, H., & Prinz, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Freiburg (DE)
  • Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (DE)
  • German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
  • Medical University of Vienna (AT)
Corresponding author
  • Lassmann, Hans
  • Prinz, Marco
Venue
Acta Neuropathologica
Published
2021-10-08
Volume
142
Issue
6
Pages
923-936
ISSN
  • 0001-6322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-0533
OpenAlex
W3201995754
Cited by
149
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 1
FWCI
2.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Acta Neuropathologica (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften (ZB MED) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
  • DZNE Pub (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Universitätsklinikum Freiburg
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Keywords
microglia, microglial phenotype, microglial activation, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation, single-cell transcriptomics, enhancer landscape, epigenetics, microglial morphology, CNS homeostasis, mouse model
MeSH terms
Neuropathology, Animals, Central Nervous System Diseases, Humans, Phenotype, Microglia, Mice

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