Cited by 1,269Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomicsMultiple Sclerosis Research Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 78 of the 78 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 49 of the 58 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

An environment-dependent transcriptional network specifies human microglia identity

Open access

Abstract

Of mice and men's microglia: Microglia are immune system cells that function in protecting and maintaining the brain. Gosselin et al. examined the epigenetics and RNA transcripts from single microglial cells and observed consistent profiles among samples despite differences in age, sex, and diagnosis. Mouse and human microglia demonstrated similar microglia-specific gene expression profiles, as well as a shared environmental response among microglia collected either immediately after surgery (ex vivo) or after culturing (in vitro). Interestingly, those genes exhibiting differences in expression between humans and mice or after culturing were often implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. Science , this issue p. eaal3222

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The study maps transcriptomes and regulatory landscapes of human microglia ex vivo and after culture, showing that brain environment maintains a large microglia-specific expression program. It also finds broad conservation with mouse microglia alongside species-biased genes and disease-risk gene expression.

Key findings

  • From 19 surgical samples, a human microglia signature of 881 transcripts was defined as >10-fold higher than cortex at FDR 0.05; intersecting with 46 public disease datasets showed significant enrichment/depletion in 28, including AD, FTLD, HAND, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s.
  • Disease risk genes were often microglia-preferential: 28/48 AD genes, 48/81 MS genes, and about one-third of PD and schizophrenia genes.
  • Human and mouse microglia transcriptomes correlated at r=0.806; 13,253/15,768 ortholog pairs were within 4-fold, while 400 human- and 293 mouse-biased mRNAs differed >10-fold at FDR 0.05. Mouse microglia signature had 900 genes >10-fold over other macrophages; ~53% (477/900) had comparable human expression.
  • Culture caused rapid remodeling: >300 genes induced and >700 repressed >10-fold; at 2-fold, 2,263 up and 3,702 down. 33% of conserved signature and 31% of AD-risk genes fell >2-fold; 424/740 ex vivo super-enhancers were lost and 541 gained. TGF-β1 restored >2-fold expression of 429 of 2,398 culture-down genes.

Methods

  • Microglia isolated from resected brain tissue of 19 individuals (epilepsy, tumors, acute ischemia), purified by FACS as live CD11b+CD45LowCD64+CX3CR1High; mouse C57BL/6 microglia as CD11b+CD45Low. Samples analyzed ex vivo and after 6h, 24h, or 7d culture.
  • RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and ChIP-seq for H3K4me2, H3K27ac, and PU.1; analyses included differential expression, motif enrichment, super-enhancer identification, ortholog mapping, and comparisons with cortex, public disease datasets, mouse macrophages, and developmental microglia.

Limitations

  • The authors note that more individuals are needed to link genetic variation to expression, that the full set of brain-derived maintenance signals is unknown, and that culture and current iPSC-derived microglia-like cells do not preserve the ex vivo phenotype; TGF-β1 effects were modest.
  • The text also makes evident limitations: samples came from heterogeneous surgical indications (epilepsy, tumor, ischemia), human macrophage RNA-seq datasets were insufficient to build a matched human microglia-specific signature, and analyses of sex differences were mostly limited to X/Y-linked genes.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1126/science.aal3222

Cites

78 of 78 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

49 of 58 cited sources checked · 28 supported · 1 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 70 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 15
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 38
51 of 51
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Human microglia isolated from surgically resected brain tissue of patients with epilepsy, brain tumors, or acute ischemic events are representative of normal human microglia.

    “Microglia were isolated from brain tissue resected for treatment of epilepsy, brain tumors or acute ischemic events in 19 individuals.”
    “As judged by neuropathological diagnostic evaluation, none of the samples displayed evidence of pathological microgliosis (i.e. loss of tiled distribution, process retraction and enlarged cell bodies) despite the occasional presence of reactive cells (Fig. S1).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The ex vivo isolation procedure, including Percoll gradient centrifugation and FACS purification, does not substantially alter the microglial transcriptome.

    “A microglia-rich cell fraction was isolated by Percoll gradient centrifugation and further purified by FACS, with final gating on live-CD11b+CD45LowCD64+CX3CR1High single cells (Fig. S2A).”
    “On the basis of these observations, the variance in gene expression noted in these samples likely overestimates the variance in the isolation of microglia and implies a high degree of precision in the RNA-Seq data set.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Motif enrichment in open chromatin indicates binding and activity of the corresponding transcription factors.

    “De novo motif analysis of ATAC-seq peaks associated with H3K4me2 was performed to identify the most highly enriched transcription factor recognition motifs associated with poised or active chromatin.”
    “The frequency distribution of many of these motifs is consistent with the corresponding transcription factors forming ternary complexes with PU.1 (e.g., the IRF motif, Fig. S10C) or functioning as collaborative binding partners (e.g., CTCF, AP-1 and RUNX motifs, Fig. S10C).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Current efforts to reprogram various starting cell populations to microglia-like cells largely achieve an in vitro phenotype.

    “Importantly, current efforts to reprogram various starting cell populations to microglia-like cells largely achieve an in vitro phenotype.”
4 of 4

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Metadata

Authors
Gosselin, D., Skola, D., Coufal, N. G., Holtman, I. R., Schlachetzki, J. C. M., Sajti, E., Jaeger, B. N., O’Connor, C., Fitzpatrick, C., Pasillas, M. P., Pena, M., Adair, A., Gonda, D. D., Levy, M. L., Ransohoff, R. M., Gage, F. H., & Glass, C. K.
Affiliations
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Salk Institute for Biological Studies (US)
  • University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
  • Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0651, USA.
  • Biogen (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
  • Gosselin, David
  • Skola, Dylan
  • Coufal, Nicole G.
  • Holtman, Inge R.
  • Schlachetzki, Johannes C. M.
  • Glass, Christopher K.
Venue
Science
Published
2017-06-23
Volume
356
Issue
6344
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2619332462
Cited by
1,220
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 131 · 2025: 123 · 2024: 175 · 2023: 112 · 2022: 138 · 2021: 142 · 2020: 142 · 2019: 120 · 2018: 107 · 2017: 29
FWCI
53.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
NIH (NS096170, GM085764)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Clinical Neurology › Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies
Keywords
human microglia, transcriptional regulatory networks, epigenetic landscape, neurodegenerative diseases, behavioral disorders, non-coding variants, transcriptome, macrophage migration, CNS homeostasis
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain Neoplasms, Cells, Cultured, Environment, Epilepsy, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microglia, Gene Expression Profiling, Mice, Gene Regulatory Networks

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