A genetically distinct microglial subset promotes myelination

EMBO J. 2017 Nov 15;36(22):3269-3271. doi: 10.15252/embj.201798389. Epub 2017 Nov 3.

Abstract

Microglia are brain‐resident macrophages with important, but insufficiently understood functions in development, health, and disease. In a new exciting study, Wlodarczyk and colleagues uncover a transient subset of CD11c+ microglia that regulate CNS myelination via IGF‐1 expression. These findings represent not only the first evidence for a microglial role in myelinogenesis, but the first for a functionally distinct, genetically defined subpopulation of microglia.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Microglia*
  • Myelin Sheath
  • Organogenesis*