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Updated: May 6, 2026

Isolation of Cortical Microglia with Preserved Immunophenotype and Functionality From Murine Neonates
Published on: January 30, 2014
Type-I-interferon-responsive microglia shape cortical development and behavior
Caroline C Escoubas1, Leah C Dorman2, Phi T Nguyen3
1Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
None:
Microglia are brain-resident macrophages that shape neural circuit development and are implicated in neurodevelopmental diseases. Multiple microglial transcriptional states have been defined, but their functional significance is unclear. Here, we identify a type I interferon (IFN-I)-responsive microglial state in the developing somatosensory cortex (postnatal day 5) that is actively engulfing whole neurons. This population expands during cortical remodeling induced by partial whisker deprivation. Global or microglial-specific loss of the IFN-I receptor resulted in microglia with phagolysosomal dysfunction and an accumulation of neurons with nuclear DNA damage. IFN-I gain of function increased neuronal engulfment by microglia in both mouse and zebrafish and restricted the accumulation of DNA-damaged neurons. Finally, IFN-I deficiency resulted in excess cortical excitatory neurons and tactile hypersensitivity. These data define a role for neuron-engulfing microglia during a critical window of brain development and reveal homeostatic functions of a canonical antiviral signaling pathway in the brain.
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