{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Faust TE"],"funding":["National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke","Leon Levy Foundation","Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation","European Research Council","NIA NIH HHS","Alfred P Sloan Foundation","NIMH NIH HHS","BrightFocus Foundation","NINDS NIH HHS","National Institute of Mental Health","Alzheimer's Association","National Institute on Aging"],"pagination":["5212-5230.e21"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12489809"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["188(19)"],"pubmed_abstract":["Astrocytes and microglia are emerging key regulators of activity-dependent synapse remodeling that engulf and remove synapses in response to changes in neural activity. Yet, the degree to which these cells communicate to coordinate this process remains an open question. Here, we use whisker removal in postnatal mice to induce activity-dependent synapse removal in the barrel cortex. We show that astrocytes do not engulf synapses in this paradigm. Instead, astrocytes reduce contact with synapses prior to microglia-mediated synapse engulfment. We further show that the reduced astrocyte-synapse contact is dependent on the release of Wnts from microglia downstream of neuron-to-microglia fractalkine ligand-receptor (CX3CL1-CX3CR1) signaling. These results demonstrate an activity-dependent mechan"],"journal":["Cell"],"pubmed_title":["Microglia-astrocyte crosstalk regulates synapse remodeling via Wnt signaling."],"pmcid":["PMC12489809"],"funding_grant_id":["R01 MH118329","RF1 AG068558","951515","R01 MH113743","R01 AG068281","RF1 AG068281","R01 AG072489","R01 NS106721","F31 NS117053","T32 AG049688","R21 MH115353","R01 AG085404","R01 NS117533"],"pubmed_authors":["Duran-Laforet V","Faust TE","Murphy RE","Lee YH","Sakers K","Schafer DP","Eroglu C","Badimon A","Boyle MA","Ferrari LL","Ayata P","O'Connor CD","Schaefer A","Gunner G"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Microglia-astrocyte crosstalk regulates synapse remodeling via Wnt signaling.","description":"Astrocytes and microglia are emerging key regulators of activity-dependent synapse remodeling that engulf and remove synapses in response to changes in neural activity. Yet, the degree to which these cells communicate to coordinate this process remains an open question. Here, we use whisker removal in postnatal mice to induce activity-dependent synapse removal in the barrel cortex. We show that astrocytes do not engulf synapses in this paradigm. Instead, astrocytes reduce contact with synapses prior to microglia-mediated synapse engulfment. We further show that the reduced astrocyte-synapse contact is dependent on the release of Wnts from microglia downstream of neuron-to-microglia fractalkine ligand-receptor (CX3CL1-CX3CR1) signaling. These results demonstrate an activity-dependent mechan","dates":{"release":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2025 Sep","modification":"2026-06-11T05:02:27.007Z","creation":"2026-06-11T03:08:24.606Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC12489809","cross_references":{"pubmed":["40934914"],"doi":["10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.023"]}}