Microglia and Microglia-Like Cells: Similar but Different
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Cuadros Ojeda, Miguel Ángel; Sepúlveda Justo, María Del Rosario; Martín Oliva, Francisco David; Marín Teva, José Luis; Neubrand, Veronika ElisabethEditorial
Frontiers Media
Materia
Microglia Microglia-like cells Yolk sac Bone marrow Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)
Date
2022-02-07Referencia bibliográfica
Cuadros MA, Sepulveda MR, Martin-Oliva D, Marín-Teva JL and Neubrand VE (2022) Microglia and Microglia-Like Cells: Similar But Different. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 16:816439. [doi: 10.3389/fncel.2022.816439]
Sponsorship
University of Granada, Spain, and FEDER-Junta de Andalucía, Spain (grant number A1-CTS-324- UGR18)Abstract
Microglia are the tissue-resident macrophages of the central nervous parenchyma. In
mammals, microglia are thought to originate from yolk sac precursors and posteriorly
maintained through the entire life of the organism. However, the contribution of microglial
cells from other sources should also be considered. In addition to “true” or “bonafide”
microglia, which are of embryonic origin, the so-called “microglia-like cells” are
hematopoietic cells of bone marrow origin that can engraft the mature brain mainly under
pathological conditions. These cells implement great parts of the microglial immune
phenotype, but they do not completely adopt the “true microglia” features. Because of
their pronounced similarity, true microglia and microglia-like cells are usually considered
together as one population. In this review, we discuss the origin and development
of these two distinct cell types and their differences. We will also review the factors
determining the appearance and presence of microglia-like cells, which can vary among
species. This knowledge might contribute to the development of therapeutic strategies
aiming at microglial cells for the treatment of diseases in which they are involved, for
example neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.