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Comment
. 2017 Nov 15;36(22):3269-3271.
doi: 10.15252/embj.201798389. Epub 2017 Nov 3.

A genetically distinct microglial subset promotes myelination

Mariko L Bennett  1 , Ben A Barres  1
Affiliations
Comment

A genetically distinct microglial subset promotes myelination

Mariko L Bennett et al. EMBO J. .

Abstract

Microglia are brain‐resident macrophages with important, but insufficiently understood functions in development, health, and disease. In a new exciting study, Wlodarczyk and colleagues uncover a transient subset of CD11c+ microglia that regulate CNS myelination via IGF‐1 expression. These findings represent not only the first evidence for a microglial role in myelinogenesis, but the first for a functionally distinct, genetically defined subpopulation of microglia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Microglia mediate myelination via IGF‐1 signaling
In the neonate, some white matter‐associated microglia express CD11c and are the source for high levels of IGF‐1. Conditional loss of IGF‐1 by CD11c+ microglia leads to eventual hypomyelination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • A novel microglial subset plays a key role in myelinogenesis in developing brain.
    Wlodarczyk A, Holtman IR, Krueger M, Yogev N, Bruttger J, Khorooshi R, Benmamar-Badel A, de Boer-Bergsma JJ, Martin NA, Karram K, Kramer I, Boddeke EW, Waisman A, Eggen BJ, Owens T. Wlodarczyk A, et al. EMBO J. 2017 Nov 15;36(22):3292-3308. doi: 10.15252/embj.201696056. Epub 2017 Sep 28. EMBO J. 2017. PMID: 28963396 Free PMC article.

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