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Isolation of Cortical Microglia with Preserved Immunophenotype and Functionality From Murine Neonates
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Deciphering microglia phenotypes in health and disease

Christopher D Balak1, Claudia Z Han2, Christopher K Glass3

  • 1Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, USA.

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|January 3, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Microglia, the brain's immune cells, are regulated by transcription factors interacting with enhancers. This controls their development and function, impacting CNS health and disease.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Microglia are central nervous system immune cells crucial for development, homeostasis, and disease.
  • Their function is modulated by environmental signals impacting gene expression via transcriptional enhancers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a conceptual framework for transcription factor and enhancer interactions in microglia.
  • To integrate recent findings and identify future research directions in microglia biology.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual framework development.
  • Literature review and synthesis of recent findings.

Main Results:

  • A framework detailing how lineage-determining and signal-dependent transcription factors regulate microglia enhancers.
  • Identification of key interactions driving microglia development and function.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding enhancer regulation is key to microglia biology.
  • Further research is needed to address open questions in microglia development and disease.

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