Microglia in Alzheimer Disease: Well-Known Targets and New Opportunities.

ABSTRACT: Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system. They play key roles in brain development, and physiology during life and aging. Equipped with a variety of molecular sensors and through the various functions they can fulfill, they are critically involved in maintaining the brain's homeostasis. In Alzheimer disease (AD), microglia reaction was initially thought to be incidental and triggered by amyloid deposits and dystrophic neurites. However, recent genome-wide association studies have established that the majority of AD risk loci are found in or near genes that are highly and sometimes uniquely expressed in microglia. This leads to the concept of microglia being critically involved in the early steps of the disease and identified them as important potential therapeut

SUBMITTER: Hemonnot AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6730262 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature