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Developmental roles of microglia: A window into mechanisms of disease
Author(s) -
Anderson Sarah R.,
Vetter Monica L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.1
Subject(s) - microglia , biology , disease , neuroscience , central nervous system , limiting , parallels , function (biology) , immunology , evolutionary biology , inflammation , pathology , medicine , mechanical engineering , engineering
Microglia are engineers of the central nervous system (CNS) both in health and disease. In addition to the canonical immunological roles of clearing damaging entities and limiting the spread of toxicity and death, microglia remodel the CNS throughout life. While they have been extensively studied in disease and injury, due to their highly variable functions, their precise role in these contexts still remains uncertain. Over the past decade, we have greatly expanded our understanding of microglial function, including their essential homeostatic roles during development. Here, we review these developmental roles, identify parallels in disease, and speculate whether developmental mechanisms re‐emerge in disease and injury. Developmental Dynamics 248:98–117, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.