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Review
. 2021 Sep 8;22(18):9706.
doi: 10.3390/ijms22189706.

The Role of Microglia in Modulating Neuroinflammation after Spinal Cord Injury

Sydney Brockie  1 , James Hong  1 , Michael G Fehlings  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Microglia in Modulating Neuroinflammation after Spinal Cord Injury

Sydney Brockie et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The pathobiology of traumatic and nontraumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), including degenerative myelopathy, is influenced by neuroinflammation. The neuroinflammatory response is initiated by a multitude of injury signals emanating from necrotic and apoptotic cells at the lesion site, recruiting local and infiltrating immune cells that modulate inflammatory cascades to aid in the protection of the lesion site and encourage regenerative processes. While peripheral immune cells are involved, microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), are known to play a central role in modulating this response. Microglia are armed with numerous cell surface receptors that interact with neurons, astrocytes, infiltrating monocytes, and endothelial cells to facilitate a dynamic, multi-faceted injury response. While their origin and essential nature are understood, their mechanisms of action and spatial and temporal profiles warrant extensive additional research. In this review, we describe the role of microglia and the cellular network in SCI, discuss tools for their investigation, outline their spatiotemporal profile, and propose translationally-relevant therapeutic targets to modulate neuroinflammation in the setting of SCI.

Keywords: microglia; neuroinflammation; spinal cord injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Developmental origins and phenotypic markers of microglia. Neuroepithelial progenitor cells give rise to microglia in mice between embryonic days 10–11. Microglial-specific markers and nonspecific markers of microglia and macrophages [18].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Microglial functional profile in neuroinflammation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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