Microglial Turnover in Ageing-Related Neurodegeneration: Therapeutic Avenue to Intervene in Disease Progression
1
Department of Applied Life Science & Integrated Bioscience, Graduate School, BK21 Program, Konkuk University, Chungju 27478, Korea
2
Department of Integrated Bioscience & Biotechnology, College of Biomedical and Health Science, Research Institute of Inflammatory Disease (RID), Konkuk University, Chungju 27478, Korea
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cells 2021, 10(1), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10010150
Received: 24 November 2020 / Revised: 11 January 2021 / Accepted: 11 January 2021 / Published: 14 January 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microglia in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases)
Microglia are brain-dwelling macrophages and major parts of the neuroimmune system that broadly contribute to brain development, homeostasis, ageing and injury repair in the central nervous system (CNS). Apart from other brain macrophages, they have the ability to constantly sense changes in the brain’s microenvironment, functioning as housekeepers for neuronal well-being and providing neuroprotection in normal physiology. Microglia use a set of genes for these functions that involve proinflammatory cytokines. In response to specific stimuli, they release these proinflammatory cytokines, which can damage and kill neurons via neuroinflammation. However, alterations in microglial functioning are a common pathophysiology in age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and prion diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. When their sentinel or housekeeping functions are severely disrupted, they aggravate neuropathological conditions by overstimulating their defensive function and through neuroinflammation. Several pathways are involved in microglial functioning, including the Trem2, Cx3cr1 and progranulin pathways, which keep the microglial inflammatory response under control and promote clearance of injurious stimuli. Over time, an imbalance in this system leads to protective microglia becoming detrimental, initiating or exacerbating neurodegeneration. Correcting such imbalances might be a potential mode of therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Keywords:
microglia; neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation; macrophages; homeostasis
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MDPI and ACS Style
Azam, S.; Haque, M..E.; Kim, I.-S.; Choi, D.-K. Microglial Turnover in Ageing-Related Neurodegeneration: Therapeutic Avenue to Intervene in Disease Progression. Cells 2021, 10, 150. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10010150
AMA Style
Azam S, Haque ME, Kim I-S, Choi D-K. Microglial Turnover in Ageing-Related Neurodegeneration: Therapeutic Avenue to Intervene in Disease Progression. Cells. 2021; 10(1):150. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10010150
Chicago/Turabian StyleAzam, Shofiul; Haque, Md. E.; Kim, In-Su; Choi, Dong-Kug. 2021. "Microglial Turnover in Ageing-Related Neurodegeneration: Therapeutic Avenue to Intervene in Disease Progression" Cells 10, no. 1: 150. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10010150
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