Microglia cannibalism and efferocytosis leads to shorter lifespans of developmental microglia.

ABSTRACT: The overproduction of cells and subsequent production of debris is a universal principle of neurodevelopment. Here we show an additional feature of the developing nervous system that causes neural debris - promoted by the sacrificial nature of embryonic microglia that irreversibly become phagocytic after clearing other neural debris. Described as long-lived, microglia colonize the embryonic brain and persist into adulthood. Using transgenic zebrafish to investigate the microglia debris during brain construction, we identified that unlike other neural cell-types that die in developmental stages after they have expanded, necroptosis-dependent microglial debris is prevalent when microglia are expanding in the zebrafish brain. Time-lapse imaging of microglia demonstrates that this debris is ca

SUBMITTER: Gordon H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10055159 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature