microglia, immunology, neuroscience

Low salt intake during pregnancy in mice influences the pruning of extra synapses of the taste circuit later in life.

Clinicians and researchers teamed up to investigate how inappropriate proinflammatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of drug-refractory epilepsy.

The approach could help test hypotheses about how atypical function of the brain’s immune cells contributes to autism.

Dialing up the activity of a protein called SYK in the brain’s “janitors” could provide an avenue to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

In stressful conditions, specialized protein complexes in microglia induce neurotoxic activity in astrocytes that leads to the change in behavior.

Making specific alterations to the bacterial population in a rat’s lungs either better protects the animals against multiple sclerosis–like symptoms or makes them more vulnerable, a study finds—the first demonstration of a lung-brain axis.

Conversations between the immune and central nervous systems are proving to be essential for the healthy social behavior, learning, and memory.

Some viruses, possibly even SARS-CoV-2, can sneak into the brain through the nose. Recent studies show that microglia are ready for them when they do.

Several routes exist for immune cells to communicate with neurons in the central nervous system, though T cells rarely come in direct contact with neural tissue.

Researchers find that about a quarter of the immune cells are replaced every year.

Once thought only to attack neurons, immune cells turn out to be vital for central nervous system function.

Researchers document the diverse roles of immune cells in neuronal health and disease.

The immune cells—known for clearing dead cells—also chew up live progenitors in neurogenic regions of mouse brains. 

Without microglia to pluck off unwanted synapses in early life, mouse brains develop with weaker connections, leading to altered social behavior.