The DOI matches its Crossref record; 110 of the 111 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Uncovering sex differences of rodent microglia
Open accessAbstract
There are inherent structural and functional differences in the central nervous systems (CNS) of females and males. It has been gradually established that these sex-specific differences are due to a spectrum of genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal factors which actively contribute to the differential incidences, disease courses, and even outcomes of CNS diseases between sexes. Microglia, as principle resident macrophages in the CNS, play a crucial role in both CNS physiology and pathology. However, sex differences of microglia have been relatively unexplored until recently. Emerging data has convincingly demonstrated the existence of sex-dependent structural and functional differences of rodent microglia, consequently changing our current understanding of these versatile cells. In this review, we attempt to comprehensively outline the current advances revealing microglial sex differences in rodent and their potential implications for specific CNS diseases with a stark sex difference. A detailed understanding of molecular processes underlying microglial sex differences is of major importance in design of translational sex- and microglia-specific therapeutic approaches.
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“Sex differences in microglia have been reported in both rodents and humans66”
From Amyloid-β induces lipid droplet-mediated microglial dysfunction via the enzyme DGAT2 in Alzheimer’s disease (2025) · cites this paper as [66]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“Importantly, these innate differences are exacerbated during immune challenge and stress and are suggested to be a prominent influence in observed sex biases of neurological disease34,36,68,69.”
From Mouse microglia express unique miRNA-mRNA networks to facilitate age-specific functions in the developing central nervous system (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
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“Mouse cohorts in this study were balanced for sex based on previous reports of sexual dimorphism in microglial genetics34–36.”
From Mouse microglia express unique miRNA-mRNA networks to facilitate age-specific functions in the developing central nervous system (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
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“In addition, aspects of sexual dimorphism in microglial gene expression are region-dependent36,68.”
From Mouse microglia express unique miRNA-mRNA networks to facilitate age-specific functions in the developing central nervous system (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
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“based on previous reports of sexual dimorphism in microglial genetics34–36”
From Mouse microglia express unique miRNA-mRNA networks to facilitate age-specific functions in the developing central nervous system (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
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Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia
Liddelow, S. A., Guttenplan, K. A., Clarke, L. E., Bennett, F. C., Bohlen, C. J., Schirmer, L., Bennett, M. L., Münch, A. E., Chung, W.-S., Peterson, T. C., et al. (2017) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature21029 · Cited by 7,971
Fate Mapping Analysis Reveals That Adult Microglia Derive from Primitive Macrophages
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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
Microglial M1/M2 polarization and metabolic states
Orihuela, R., McPherson, C. A., & Harry, G. J. (2016) · British Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/bph.13139 · Cited by 2,070
Policy: NIH to balance sex in cell and animal studies
Clayton, J. A., & Collins, F. S. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/509282a · Cited by 1,816
New tools for studying microglia in the mouse and human CNS
Bennett, M. L., Bennett, F. C., Liddelow, S. A., Ajami, B., Zamanian, J. L., Fernhoff, N. B., Mulinyawe, S. B., Bohlen, C. J., Adil, A., Tucker, A., et al. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1525528113 · Cited by 1,804
Microglia emerge as central players in brain disease
Salter, M. W., & Stevens, B. (2017) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/nm.4397 · Cited by 1,767
Microglia Biology: One Century of Evolving Concepts
Prinz, M., Jung, S., & Priller, J. (2019) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.053 · Cited by 1,525
Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of mouse and human microglia at single-cell resolution
Masuda, T., Sankowski, R., Staszewski, O., Böttcher, C., Amann, L., Sagar, Scheiwe, C., Nessler, S., Kunz, P., van Loo, G., et al. (2019) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0924-x · Cited by 1,310
Irradiation induces neural precursor-cell dysfunction
Monje, M. L., Mizumatsu, S., Fike, J. R., & Palmer, T. D. (2002) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/nm749 · Cited by 1,271
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Microglia states and nomenclature: A field at its crossroads
Paolicelli, R. C., Sierra, A., Stevens, B., Tremblay, M.-E., Aguzzi, A., Ajami, B., Amit, I., Audinat, E., Bechmann, I., Bennett, M., et al. (2022) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.020 · Cited by 1,973
Microglia morphophysiological diversity and its implications for the CNS
Vidal-Itriago, A., Radford, R. A. W., Aramideh, J. A., Maurel, C., Scherer, N. M., Don, E. K., Lee, A., Chung, R. S., Graeber, M. B., & Morsch, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Immunology · doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.997786 · Cited by 451
Mechanisms of sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease
Lopez-Lee, C., Torres, E. R. S., Carling, G., & Gan, L. (2024) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.024 · Cited by 376
Fernández-Calle, R., Konings, S. C., Frontiñán-Rubio, J., García-Revilla, J., Camprubí-Ferrer, L., Svensson, M., Martinson, I., Boza-Serrano, A., Venero, J. L., Nielsen, H. M., et al. (2022) · Molecular Neurodegeneration · doi:10.1186/s13024-022-00566-4 · Cited by 278
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and inflammation in depression: Pathogenic partners in crime?
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Metadata
- Authors
- Han, J., Fan, Y., Zhou, K., Blomgren, K., & Harris, R. A.
- Affiliations
- Karolinska University Hospital (SE)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Han, Jinming
- Harris, Robert A.
- Venue
- Journal of Neuroinflammation
- Published
- 2021-03-17
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 74-74
- ISSN
- 1742-2094 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7972194
- OpenAlex
- W3136882251
- Cited by
- 224
- References
- 111
- Citations by year
- 2026: 45 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 8
- FWCI
- 3.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroinflammation (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- China Scholarship Council
- the Swedish Research Council
- Neuroforbundet
- Hjärnfonden
- Alzheimerfonden
- Alltid Litt Sterkere
- the Swedish Cancer Foundation
- the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Inflammasome and immune disorders
- Keywords
- sex differences, microglia, rodent models, central nervous system, sex hormones, epigenetics, central nervous system disorders, sex-specific treatment
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Female, Male, Rodentia, Sex Characteristics, Microglia, Epigenesis, Genetic
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