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Review
. 2023 Oct;601(19):4203-4215.
doi: 10.1113/JP279521. Epub 2022 Apr 6.

The role of intracellular calcium-store-mediated calcium signals in in vivo sensor and effector functions of microglia

Kuang Pan  1 , Olga Garaschuk  1
Affiliations
Free article
Review

The role of intracellular calcium-store-mediated calcium signals in in vivo sensor and effector functions of microglia

Kuang Pan et al. J Physiol. 2023 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Under physiological conditions microglia, the immune sentinels of the brain, constantly monitor their microenvironment. In the case of danger, damage or cell/tissue dyshomeostasis, they react with changes in process motility, polarization, directed process movement, morphology and gene expression profile; release pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators; proliferate; and clean brain parenchyma by means of phagocytosis. Based on recent transcriptomic and in vivo Ca2+ imaging data, we argue that the local cell/tissue dyshomeostasis is sensed by microglia via intracellular Ca2+ signals, many of which are mediated by Ca2+ release from the intracellular Ca2+ stores. These signals encode the strength, duration and spatiotemporal pattern of the stimulus and, at the same time, relay this information further to trigger the respective Ca2+ -dependent effector pathways. We also point to the fact that microglial Ca2+ signalling is sexually dimorphic and undergoes profound changes across the organism's lifespan. Interestingly, the first changes in microglial Ca2+ signalling are visible already in 9- to 11-month-old mice, roughly corresponding to 40-year-old humans.

Keywords: in vivo imaging; microglial calcium signalling; midlife; sexual dimorphism; transcriptomics.

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