Microglial SIRPα regulates the emergence of CD11c⁺ microglia and demyelination damage in white matter.

ABSTRACT: A characteristic subset of microglia expressing CD11c appears in response to brain damage. However, the functional role of CD11c⁺ microglia, as well as the mechanism of its induction, are poorly understood. Here we report that the genetic ablation of signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα), a membrane protein, induced the emergence of CD11c⁺ microglia in the brain white matter. Mice lacking CD47, a physiological ligand of SIRPα, and microglia-specific SIRPα-knockout mice exhibited the same phenotype, suggesting that an interaction between microglial SIRPα and CD47 on neighbouring cells suppressed the emergence of CD11c⁺ microglia. A lack of SIRPα did not cause detectable damage to the white matter, but resulted in the increased expression of genes whose express

SUBMITTER: Sato-Hashimoto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6435324 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature