microglia tagged posts

Senescent cells (represented here in green) no longer function but can broadcast inflammatory signals to the cells around them. These cells are implicated in a number of age-related diseases.
Credit: Image courtesy of Mayo Clinic

Zombie cells are the ones that can’t die but are equally unable to perform the functions of a normal cell. These zombie, or senescent, cells are implicated in a number of age-related diseases. And with a new letter in Nature, Mayo Clinic researchers have expanded that list.

In a mouse model of brain disease, scientists report that senescent cells accumulate in certain brain cells prior to cognitive loss. By preventing the accumulation of these cells, they were able to diminish tau protein aggregation, neuronal death and memory loss.

“Senescent cells are known to ac...

Butyrate and Dietary Soluble Fiber Improve Neuroinflammation Associated With Aging in Mice. Frontiers in Immunology, 2018; 9 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01832

As mammals age, immune cells in the brain known as microglia become chronically inflamed. In this state, they produce chemicals known to impair cognitive and motor function. That’s one explanation for why memory fades and other brain functions decline during old age. But, according to a new study from the University of Illinois, there may be a remedy to delay the inevitable: dietary fiber.

Dietary fiber promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut. When these bacteria digest fiber, they produce short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs), including butyrate, as byproducts...

In vitro functional analysis showed that the CX3CR1-Ala55Thr mutation inhibited cell signaling induced by fractalkine, the ligand for CX3CR1. The combined data suggested that the variant Ala55Thr in CX3CR1 might result in the disruption of CX3CR1 signaling. Our results strengthen the association between microglia-specific genes and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Osaka University researchers show in a multi-institute collaboration that a single amino acid substitution in the protein CX3CR1 may act as predictor for schizophrenia and autism. Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy are all diseases that can be traced to a single mutation. Diagnosis in asymptomatic patient for these diseases is relatively easy – You have the mutation? Then you are at risk...

A mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) section shows microglia (green) in contact with AgRP neurons (red), which are critical hypothalamic neurons in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Credit: Image by the Suneil Koliwad Lab

Diet study finds link between brain inflammation and obesity in mice. Immune cells in the brain trigger overeating and weight gain in response to diets rich in fat, according to a new study in mice led by researchers from UC San Francisco and the University of Washington Medical Center. Brain-resident microglia could be targets for obesity treatments that might avoid many side effects of the obesity drugs currently in clinical use.

“Microglia are not neurons, but they account for 10 to 15% of the cells in the brain,” said Suneil Koliwad, MD, PhD, assistant profess...