Epigenetic control of microglial developmental milestones from proliferative progenitors to efficient phagocytes.

ABSTRACT: Early immune perturbations increase the risk of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, yet the mechanisms underlying the maturation of microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain parenchyma, remain poorly defined. Specifically, how proliferation, morphological differentiation, and phagocytosis are coordinated among microglia progenitors as they colonize the embryonic brain remains unclear. Here, we combined mathematical modeling with spatiotemporal analyses of the murine hippocampus and cerebellum from postnatal day 2 (P2) to P60 to reconstruct the trajectory of microglial development. We identified a proliferative-to-quiescent (P/Q) switch around P3/P4 that preceded the acquisition of morphological complexity and efficient phagocytosis and was accompanied by coordinated

SUBMITTER: Pereira-Iglesias M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12637658 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature