Cited by 6Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsMicroRNA in disease regulation

microRNA-132 attenuates inflammation in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia from Alzheimer’s disease patients

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Penning, Amber, Snoeck, Sarah, Ormaechea, Olmo Ruiz, Ayyildiz, Dilara, Polzer, Oliver, Buitrago-Arango, Martin, Capobianco, Raffaella, de Winter, Fred +8 more·2026·Acta Neuropathologica Communications

Abstract

Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, are increasingly recognized as key contributors to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Multiple studies have identified microRNA-132 (miR-132) as one of the most significantly downregulated microRNAs in AD. Apart from well-established pleiotropic regulatory functions in neurons, previous evidence also suggested a role for miR-132 in regulating (neuro)inflammation. Yet, the precise mechanisms by which miR-132 impacts microglia remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-132 in modulating microglial gene expression and function using gain- and loss-of-function approaches in human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia (iMGs) from both healthy controls and sporadic AD (sAD) patients. Our findings indicate that while miR-132 may not be indispensable for some baseline microglial functions, increasing its expression in sAD iMGs can reverse disease-associated gene expression changes and attenuate inflammatory responses. To further explore its therapeutic potential, we overexpressed miR-132 in hippocampal neurons of an AD mouse model, employing a clinically relevant adeno-associated viral (AAV) delivery method. miR-132 overexpression was well-tolerated and induced non-cell autonomous effects in microglia. This study sheds light into the regulatory role of miR-132 in microglia under both physiological and AD conditions, and emphasizes the importance of optimizing safe dosage parameters for future clinical applications.

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  1. Salloway SP, Sevingy J, Budur K, Pederson JT, DeMattos RB, Von Rosenstiel P et al (2020) Advancing combination therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s, New York, p 6
  2. Zhang XL, Sun BL, Tian SX, Li L, Zhao YC, Shi PP (2019) MicroRNA-132 reverses cisplatin resistance and metastasis in ovarian cancer by the targeted regulation on Bmi-1. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 23:3635–3644
  3. Zohar K, Lezmi E, Reichert F, Eliyahu T, Rotshenker S, Weinstock M et al (2025) Temporal shifts in MicroRNAs signify the inflammatory state of primary murine microglial Cells. Int J Mol Sci 26(74):85
  4. Penning A, Snoeck S, Garritsen O, Tosoni G, Hof A, de Boer F et al (2024) NACC2, a molecular effector of miR-132 regulation at the interface between adult neurogenesis and Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep 141(14):1–16

Cited by

Authors
Penning, A., Snoeck, S., Ormaechea, O. R., Ayyildiz, D., Polzer, O., Buitrago-Arango, M., Capobianco, R., de Winter, F., Balusu, S., Verhaagen, J., Fitzsimons, C. P., d’Ydewalle, C., Lucassen, P. J., Moechars, D., Zhou, L., & Salta, E.
Affiliations
  • Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NL)
  • Janssen (Belgium) (BE)
  • VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research (BE)
  • University of Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
Salta, Evgenia
Venue
Acta Neuropathologica Communications
Published
2026-03-07
Volume
14
Issue
1
ISSN
2051-5960 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W7134182450
Cited by
6
References
172
Citations by year
2026: 6
FWCI
14.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Acta Neuropathologica Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • KNAW research portal (Royal Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW)) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • KNAW Research Portal (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Health~Holland
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
Keywords
microRNA-132, Alzheimer's disease, microglia, neuroinflammation, induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia, sporadic Alzheimer's disease, microglial gene expression, hippocampal neurons, non-cell-autonomous effects
MeSH terms
Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Cells, Cultured, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Mice, Transgenic, Neurons, Microglia, MicroRNAs, Mice, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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