bioimagesUnknownMus musculus (mouse)https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-BSST1009bioimagesorganisationSimon BeggsYajing XuDale MouldingWenanlan JinfalseMicroglial phagocytosis mediates long-term restructuring of spinal GABAergic circuits following early life injuryPeripheral injury during the early postnatal period alters the somatosensory system, leading to behavioural hyperalgesia upon re-injury in adulthood. Spinal microglia have been implicated as the cellular mediators of this phenomenon, but the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesised that neonatal injury (1) alters microglial phagocytosis of synapses in the dorsal horn leading to long-term structural changes in neurons, and/or (2) trains microglia, leading to a stronger microglial response after re-injury in adulthood. Using hindpaw surgical incision as a model we showed that microglial density and phagocytosis increased in the dorsal horn region innervated by the hindpaw. Dorsal horn microglia increased engulfment of synapses following injury, with a preference for those expressing the vesicul2023-01-29T00:00:00Z2023-04-24T17:15:01.659Z2023-01-29T18:16:06.974ZS-BSST1009