biostudies-literaturePaolicelli RCBrain Research UKNICHD NIH HHSSwiss National Science FoundationNIA NIH HHSNIDA NIH HHSNIMH NIH HHSMedical Research CouncilChief Scientist OfficeNINDS NIH HHSAcademy of Medical SciencesParkinson's UK3458-3483https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9999291biostudies-literatureUnknown110(21)Microglial research has advanced considerably in recent decades yet has been constrained by a rolling series of dichotomies such as "resting versus activated" and "M1 versus M2." This dualistic classification of good or bad microglia is inconsistent with the wide repertoire of microglial states and functions in development, plasticity, aging, and diseases that were elucidated in recent years. New designations continuously arising in an attempt to describe the different microglial states, notably defined using transcriptomics and proteomics, may easily lead to a misleading, although unintentional, coupling of categories and functions. To address these issues, we assembled a group of multidisciplinary experts to discuss our current understanding of microglial states as a dynamic concept and NeuronMicroglia states and nomenclature: A field at its crossroads.PMC9999291RF1 AG068558UKDRI-1011UKDRI-4005MC_EX_MR/N50192X/1P01 DA047233R35 NS111582R01 NS106721R01 NS112526MR/V032925/1MR/P024572/1MR/V031260/1197940J-1403R01 MH118329UKDRI-4013SBF006\1085CGA/18/46UKDRI-1004310030P50 HD105351R01 AG072489RF1 AG060748DP2 MH100012J-0901201819-21Kettenmann HDenes AKoyama RGarel SColonna MGordon SGraeber MBCunningham CMcColl BWSmith CJBilbo SNeumann HGlass CKWyss-Coray TLemke GEggen BJLGutmann DHWake HBechmann IEyo UKipnis JAjami BGreenhalgh ADBrown GCAguzzi ASalter MWWu LJGokce OMolofsky AVLynch MDavalos DPridans CBrone BNadjar AMajewska ACastellano BSchafer DPNoda MGinhoux FHaass CNeniskyte UMracsko EGonzalez BBrites DMatteoli MRansohoff RMMalm TBoddeke EMancuso RCarson MJMasuda THeppner FLRagozzino DWittamer VCowley SAGressens PPriller JDe Jager PLStreit WJMiron VEde Strooper BBessis ABlurton-Jones MTay TLPaolicelli RCSchwartz MTremblay MEBennett FAudinat EBennett MHume DANeher JJBiber KHeneka MTPopovich PGGreter MVerkhratsky AGalea EGomez-Nicola DWolf SASimons MSierra AStevens BPeng BPrinz MPerry VHPeri FTsai LHvon Bernhardi RSchaefer AAmit IButovsky OJung SMalcangio MMonje MHong SfalseMicroglia states and nomenclature: A field at its crossroads.Microglial research has advanced considerably in recent decades yet has been constrained by a rolling series of dichotomies such as "resting versus activated" and "M1 versus M2." This dualistic classification of good or bad microglia is inconsistent with the wide repertoire of microglial states and functions in development, plasticity, aging, and diseases that were elucidated in recent years. New designations continuously arising in an attempt to describe the different microglial states, notably defined using transcriptomics and proteomics, may easily lead to a misleading, although unintentional, coupling of categories and functions. To address these issues, we assembled a group of multidisciplinary experts to discuss our current understanding of microglial states as a dynamic concept and 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Nov2026-05-28T22:56:18.528Z2024-10-16T16:56:33.568ZS-EPMC99992913632789510.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.020