In the central nervous system, resident macrophages, microglia, and perivascular macrophages perform similar functions to peripheral macrophages yet display highly specialized features. They maintain some phenotypic characteristics and lineage-related properties common to their cells of origin and their rapid response in areas of neuronal death led to the contention that microglia serve as brain macrophages. While microglia are often considered the immune cell of the brain, they also show distinct features that make them unique from other tissue macrophages. They are maintained in a relatively quiescent and monitoring state by regulatory factors released by neurons and astrocytes. Via contact-dependent and receptor-dependent signaling, microglia rapidly respond to various events in the brain in an effort to return the microenvironment to homeostasis, to assist in refining the neural network during development and with repair, and to remove excess and aberrant proteins. Depending on the nature of the response and the physiological function of the microglia, a release of immune-related signaling factors can accompany a morphological change. It was initially thought that the immune-related response of microglia mirrors that of peripheral macrophages and considered to be adverse to the nervous system. However, further evaluation of these cells suggests that overall their responses are ones critical to the maintenance and function of the nervous system. This chapter will serve to set the framework for evaluating the microglia within the context of data available on their varied functions within the nervous system.
CITATION STYLE
Harry, G. J., & McPherson, C. A. (2014). Microglia: Neuroprotective and neurodestructive properties. In Handbook of Neurotoxicity (Vol. 1, pp. 109–132). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5836-4_55
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