Macrophages excite muscle spindles with glutamate to bolster locomotion.

ABSTRACT: The stretch reflex is a fundamental component of the motor system that orchestrates the coordinated muscle contractions underlying movement. At the heart of this process lie the muscle spindles (MS), specialized receptors finely attuned to fluctuations in tension within intrafusal muscle fibres. The tension variation in the MS triggers a series of neuronal events including an initial depolarization of sensory type Ia afferents that subsequently causes the activation of motoneurons within the spinal cord^1,2. This neuronal cascade culminates in the execution of muscle contraction, underscoring a presumed closed-loop mechanism between the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. By contrast, here we report the discovery of a new population of macrophages with exclusive molecular and fu

SUBMITTER: Yan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11735391 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature