Recent Advances in Microglia Modelling to Address Translational Outcomes in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are deteriorating conditions of the nervous system that are rapidly increasing in the aging population. Increasing evidence suggests that neuroinflammation, largely mediated by microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, contributes to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Hence, microglia are considered a major therapeutic target that could potentially yield effective disease‐modifying treatments for neurodegenerative dis-eases. Despite the interest in studying microglia as drug targets, the availability of cost‐effective, flexible, and patient‐specific microglia cellular models is limited. Importantly, the current model systems do not accurately recapitulate important pathological features or disease processes, leading to the failure of many therapeutic drugs. Here, we review the key roles of microglia in neurodegen-erative diseases and provide an update on the current microglia platforms utilised in neurodegen-erative diseases, with a focus on human microglia‐like cells derived from peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells as well as human‐induced pluripotent stem cells. The described microglial platforms can serve as tools for investigating disease biomarkers and improving the clinical translatability of the drug development process in neurodegenerative diseases.