Functions of microglia in the central nervous system—beyond the immune response
Abstract
Microglia cells are the immune cells of the central nervous system and consequently play important roles in brain infections and inflammation. Recent in vivo imaging studies have revealed that in the resting healthy brain, microglia are highly dynamic, moving constantly to actively survey the brain parenchyma. These active microglia can rapidly respond to pathological insults, becoming activated to induce a range of effects that may contribute to both pathogenesis, or to confer neuronal protection. However, interactions between microglia and neurons are being recognized as important in shaping neural circuit activity under more normal, physiological conditions. During development and neurogenesis, microglia interactions with neurons help to shape the final patterns of neural circuits important for behavior and with implications for diseases. In the mature brain, microglia can respond to changes in sensory activity and can influence neuronal activity acutely and over the long term. Microglia seem to be particularly involved in monitoring the integrity of synaptic function. In this review, we discuss some of these new insights into the involvement of microglia in neural circuits.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Exercise and environmental enrichment in normal rodents increase the rate of newborn cell numbers, the fraction that differentiate into neurons, and the proportion that incorporate into neuronal circuits.
“Exercise and environmental enrichment in normal rodents have been shown to have a number of important influences on neurogenesis including increasing (i) the rate of newborn cell numbers, (ii) the fraction that differentiate into neurons, and (iii) the proportion that incorporate into neuronal circuits 122.”
From Exercise-enhanced neuroplasticity targeting motor and cognitive circuitry in Parkinson's disease (2013) · cites this paper as [122]
Cites
Two-photon laser scanning fluorescence microscopy
Denk, W., Strickler, J. H., & Webb, W. W. (1990) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2321027 · Cited by 9,488 · see citing works
Resting microglial cells are highly dynamic surveillants of brain parenchyma in vivo
Nimmerjahn, A., Kirchhoff, F., & Helmchen, F. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1110647 · Cited by 5,827 · see citing works
Synaptic Pruning by Microglia Is Necessary for Normal Brain Development
Paolicelli, R. C., Bolasco, G., Pagani, F., Maggi, L., Scianni, M., Panzanelli, P., Giustetto, M., Ferreira, T. A., Guiducci, E., Dumas, L., et al. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1202529 · Cited by 4,244 · see citing works
ATP mediates rapid microglial response to local brain injury in vivo
Davalos, D., Grutzendler, J., Yang, G., Kim, J. V., Zuo, Y., Jung, S., Littman, D. R., Dustin, M. L., & Gan, W.-B. (2005) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1472 · Cited by 3,913 · see citing works
The Classical Complement Cascade Mediates CNS Synapse Elimination
Stevens, B., Allen, N. J., Vazquez, L. E., Howell, G. R., Christopherson, K. S., Nouri, N., Micheva, K. D., Mehalow, A. K., Huberman, A. D., Stafford, B., et al. (2007) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.10.036 · Cited by 3,313 · see citing works
BDNF from microglia causes the shift in neuronal anion gradient underlying neuropathic pain
Coull, J. A. M., Beggs, S., Boudreau, D., Boivin, D., Tsuda, M., Inoue, K., Gravel, C., Salter, M. W., & De Koninck, Y. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04223 · Cited by 1,965 · see citing works
Microglial physiology: unique stimuli, specialized responses
Ransohoff, R. M., & Perry, V. H. (2009) · Annual Review of Immunology · doi:10.1146/annurev.immunol.021908.132528 · Cited by 1,858 · see citing works
Microglia Shape Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis through Apoptosis-Coupled Phagocytosis
Sierra, A., Encinas, J. M., Deudero, J. J. P., Chancey, J. H., Enikolopov, G., Overstreet-Wadiche, L. S., Tsirka, S. E., & Maletic-Savatic, M. (2010) · Cell Stem Cell · doi:10.1016/j.stem.2010.08.014 · Cited by 1,622 · see citing works
Wake, H., Moorhouse, A. J., Jinno, S., Kohsaka, S., & Nabekura, J. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4363-08.2009 · Cited by 1,619 · see citing works
Self-citationP2X4 receptors induced in spinal microglia gate tactile allodynia after nerve injury
Tsuda, M., Shigemoto‐Mogami, Y., Koizumi, S., Mizokoshi, A., Kohsaka, S., Salter, M. W., & Inoue, K. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01786 · Cited by 1,567 · see citing works
Microglial interactions with synapses are modulated by visual experience
Tremblay, M.-È., Lowery, R. L., & Majewska, A. K. (2010) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000527 · Cited by 1,542 · see citing works
Ziv, Y., Ron, N., Butovsky, O., Landa, G., Sudai, E., Greenberg, N., Cohen, H., Kipnis, J., & Schwartz, M. (2006) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1629 · Cited by 1,209 · see citing works
Jin, K., Minami, M., Lan, J., Mao, X., Batteur, S., Simon, R., & Greenberg, D. A. (2001) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.081011098 · Cited by 1,117 · see citing works
Displacement of synaptic terminals from regenerating motoneurons by microglial cells
Blinzinger, K., & Kreutzberg, G. W. (1968) · Cell and Tissue Research · doi:10.1007/bf00325030 · Cited by 855 · see citing works
UDP acting at P2Y6 receptors is a mediator of microglial phagocytosis
Koizumi, S., Shigemoto-Mogami, Y., Nasu-Tada, K., Shinozaki, Y., Ohsawa, K., Tsuda, M., Joshi, B. V., Jacobson, K. A., Kohsaka, S., & Inoue, K. (2007) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05704 · Cited by 802 · see citing works
Neuronal ‘On’ and ‘Off’ signals control microglia
Biber, K., Neumann, H., Inoue, K., & Boddeke, H. W. G. M. (2007) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2007.08.007 · Cited by 787 · see citing works
Microglia Promote the Death of Developing Purkinje Cells
Marı́n-Teva, J. L., Dusart, I., Colin, C., Gervais, A., van Rooijen, N., & Mallat, M. (2004) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(04)00069-8 · Cited by 757 · see citing works
Microglia activation triggers astrocyte-mediated modulation of excitatory neurotransmission
Pascual, O., Ben Achour, S., Rostaing, P., Triller, A., & Bessis, A. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1111098109 · Cited by 693 · see citing works
Production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha by microglia and astrocytes in culture
Sawada, M., Kondo, N., Suzumura, A., & Marunouchi, T. (1989) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0006-8993(89)90078-4 · Cited by 631 · see citing works
CX3CR1 deficiency leads to impairment of hippocampal cognitive function and synaptic plasticity
Rogers, J. T., Morganti, J. M., Bachstetter, A. D., Hudson, C. E., Peters, M. M., Grimmig, B. A., Weeber, E. J., Bickford, P. C., & Gemma, C. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3667-11.2011 · Cited by 624 · see citing works
Microglial Cx3cr1 knockout prevents neuron loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Fuhrmann, M., Bittner, T., Jung, C. K. E., Burgold, S., Page, R. M., Mitteregger, G., Haass, C., LaFerla, F. M., Kretzschmar, H., & Herms, J. (2010) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2511 · Cited by 562 · see citing works
Microglial control of neuronal death and synaptic properties
Bessis, A., Béchade, C., Bernard, D., & Roumier, A. (2006) · Glia · doi:10.1002/glia.20459 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
The origin and cell lineage of microglia: new concepts
Chan, W. Y., Kohsaka, S., & Rezaie, P. (2007) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2006.11.002 · Cited by 400 · see citing works
Microglia Protect Neurons against Ischemia by Synthesis of Tumor Necrosis Factor
Lambertsen, K. L., Clausen, B. H., Babcock, A. A., Gregersen, R., Fenger, C., Nielsen, H. H., Haugaard, L. S., Wirenfeldt, M., Nielsen, M., Dagnæs‐Hansen, F., et al. (2009) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5505-08.2009 · Cited by 364 · see citing works
Enhanced synaptic connectivity and epilepsy in C1q knockout mice
Chu, Y., Jin, X., Parada, I., Pesic, A., Stevens, B., Barres, B., & Prince, D. A. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0913449107 · Cited by 364 · see citing works
Wakselman, S., Béchade, C., Roumier, A., Bernard, D., Triller, A., & Bessis, A. (2008) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1006-08.2008 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Rett Syndrome Microglia Damage Dendrites and Synapses by the Elevated Release of Glutamate
Maezawa, I., & Jin, L. (2010) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5966-09.2010 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Evidence for synaptic stripping by cortical microglia
Trapp, B. D., Wujek, J. R., Criste, G. A., Jalabi, W., Yin, X., Kidd, G. J., Stohlman, S. A., & Ransohoff, R. M. (2006) · Glia · doi:10.1002/glia.20462 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Parent, J. M., Valentin, V. V., & Lowenstein, D. H. (2002) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.22-08-03174.2002 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Merrill, J. E. (1992) · Developmental Neuroscience · doi:10.1159/000111642 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
AMPA–Kainate Subtypes of Glutamate Receptor in Rat Cerebral Microglia
Noda, M., Nakanishi, H., Nabekura, J., & Akaike, N. (2000) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20-01-00251.2000 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
Self-citationThe origin and differentiation of microglial cells during development
Cuadros, M. Á. (1998) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0301-0082(98)00035-5 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Liu, Z., Condello, C., Schain, A., Harb, R., & Grutzendler, J. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4403-10.2010 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Systemic inflammatory cells fight off neurodegenerative disease
Schwartz, M., & Shechter, R. (2010) · Nature Reviews Neurology · doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2010.71 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Microglia and cell death in the developing mouse cerebellum
Ashwell, K. W. S. (1990) · Developmental Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0165-3806(90)90203-b · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Neniškytė, U., Neher, J. J., & Brown, G. C. (2011) · Journal of Biological Chemistry · doi:10.1074/jbc.m111.267583 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Localization of basic fibroblast growth factor and its mRNA after CNS injury
Frautschy, S. A., Walicke, P. A., & Baird, A. (1991) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0006-8993(91)90837-l · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Programmed cell death in the developing human telencephalon
Rakić, S., & Zečević, N. (2000) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.2000.00153.x · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Choi, S. H., Veeraraghavalu, K., Lazarov, O., Marler, S., Ransohoff, R. M., Ramirez, J., & Sisodia, S. S. (2008) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.07.033 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
The effect of neurodegenerative diseases on the subventricular zone
Curtis, M. A., Faull, R. L. M., & Eriksson, P. S. (2007) · Nature reviews. Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2216 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Current and potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of ataxia-telangiectasia
Lavin, M. F., Gueven, N., Bottle, S. E., & Gatti, R. A. (2007) · British Medical Bulletin · doi:10.1093/bmb/ldm012 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Finsen, B. R., Jørgensen, M. B., Diemer, N. H., & Zimmer, J. (1993) · Glia · doi:10.1002/glia.440070109 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
The microglial networks of the brain and their role in neuronal network plasticity after lesion
Cullheim, S., & Thams, S. (2007) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2007.03.012 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
The role of seizure-induced neurogenesis in epileptogenesis and brain repair
Parent, J. M. (2002) · Epilepsy Research · doi:10.1016/s0920-1211(02)00078-5 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Hippocampal neurogenesis and neural stem cells in temporal lobe epilepsy
Kuruba, R., Hattiangady, B., & Shetty, A. K. (2008) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2008.08.020 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Kalla, R., Liu, Z., Xu, S., Koppius, A., Imai, Y., Kloss, C., Kohsaka, S., Gschwendtner, A., Möller, J. C., Werner, A., et al. (2001) · PubMed · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Kalla, R., Liu, Z., Xu, S., Koppius, A., Imai, Y., Kloss, C. U. A., Kohsaka, S., Gschwendtner, A., Möller, J. C., Werner, A., et al. (2001) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.1060 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Impaired cell proliferation in the subventricular zone in an Alzheimer's disease model
Rodriguez, J. J., Jones, V. C., & Verkhratsky, A. (2009) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e32832be77d · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Resting Microglial Motility Is Independent of Synaptic Plasticity in Mammalian Brain
Wu, L., & Zhuo, M. (2008) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.01210.2007 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Koketsu, D., Furuichi, Y., Maeda, M., Matsuoka, N., Miyamoto, Y., & Hisatsune, T. (2006) · Experimental Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2006.03.012 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
TNF-α Preconditioning Protects Neurons via Neuron-Specific Up-Regulation of CREB-Binding Protein
Saha, R. N., Ghosh, A., Palencia, C. A., Fung, Y. K., Dudek, S. M., & Pahan, K. (2009) · The Journal of Immunology · doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0801892 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Waste Management and Adult Neurogenesis
Mattocks, M., & Tropepe, V. (2010) · Cell stem cell · doi:10.1016/j.stem.2010.09.008 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Broca's region revisited: Cytoarchitecture and intersubject variability
Amunts, K., Schleicher, A., B�rgel, U., Mohlberg, H., Uylings, H. B. M., & Zilles, K. (1999) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19990920)412:2
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Immune attack: the role of inflammation in Alzheimer disease
Heppner, F. L., Ransohoff, R. M., & Becher, B. (2015) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3880 · Cited by 2,134 · see citing works
Exercise-enhanced neuroplasticity targeting motor and cognitive circuitry in Parkinson's disease
Petzinger, G. M., Fisher, B. E., McEwen, S., Beeler, J. A., Walsh, J. P., & Jakowec, M. W. (2013) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(13)70123-6 · Cited by 798 · see citing works
Pantazatos, S. P., Huang, Y.-Y., Rosoklija, G. B., Dwork, A. J., Arango, V, & Mann, J. J. (2017) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2016.130 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Decreased glial reactivity could be involved in the antipsychotic-like effect of cannabidiol
Gomes, F. V., Llorente, R., Del Bel, E. A., Viveros, M.-P., López-Gallardo, M., & Guimarães, F. S. (2015) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2015.01.015 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Neal, M. L., Fleming, S. M., Budge, K. M., Boyle, A. M., Kim, C., Alam, G., Beier, E. E., Wu, L., & Richardson, J. R. (2020) · The FASEB Journal · doi:10.1096/fj.201900567rr · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Cordaro, M., Cuzzocrea, S., & Crupi, R. (2020) · Antioxidants · doi:10.3390/antiox9030216 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Lue, L.-F., Schmitz, C., & Walker, D. G. (2015) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.09.050 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Ernest James Phillips, T., & Maguire, E. (2021) · Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncel.2021.652593 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sun, J., Chen, F., She, L., Zeng, Y., Tang, H., Ye, B., Zheng, W., Xiong, L., Li, L., Li, L., et al. (2025) · Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B · doi:10.1016/j.apsb.2024.11.020 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wake, H., Moorhouse, A. J., & Nabekura, J.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Wake, Hiroaki
- Venue
- Neuron Glia Biology
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2011-02
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 47-53
- ISSN
- 1740-925X (ISSN-L)
- 1741-0533
- OpenAlex
- W2128971541
- Cited by
- 167
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuron Glia Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Keywords
- microglia, central nervous system, microglial surveillance, microglial activation, microglia-neuron interaction, neural circuit development, neurogenesis, synaptic integrity, neuronal activity, neuroinflammation, brain infection, neuroprotection
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain Diseases, Cell Communication, Central Nervous System, Humans, Inflammation, Neurons, Synapses, Microglia, Neurogenesis
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review