Autor(es): Augusto-Oliveira, Marcus ; Arrifano, Gabriela P. ; Lopes-Araújo, Amanda ; Santos-Sacramento, Leticia ; Takeda, Priscila Y. ; Anthony, Daniel C. ; Malva, João O. ; Crespo-Lopez, Maria Elena
Data: 2019
Identificador Persistente: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/106852
Origem: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
Assunto(s): cognition; adult neurogenesis; plasticity; memory; CNS; healthy; glia; homeostasis; learning; synapse
Microglia originate from yolk sac-primitive macrophages and auto-proliferate into adulthood without replacement by bone marrow-derived circulating cells. In inflammation, stroke, aging, or infection, microglia have been shown to contribute to brain pathology in both deleterious and beneficial ways, which have been studied extensively. However, less is known about their role in the healthy adult brain. Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes are widely accepted to strongly contribute to the maintenance of brain homeostasis and to modulate neuronal function. On the other hand, contribution of microglia to cognition and behavior is only beginning to be understood. The ability to probe their function has become possible using microglial depletion assays and conditional mutants. Studies have shown that the absence of microglia results in cognitive and learning deficits in rodents during development, but this effect is less pronounced in adults. However, evidence suggests that microglia play a role in cognition and learning in adulthood and, at a cellular level, may modulate adult neurogenesis. This review presents the case for repositioning microglia as key contributors to the maintenance of homeostasis and cognitive processes in the healthy adult brain, in addition to their classical role as sentinels coordinating the neuroinflammatory response to tissue damage and disease.
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(CNPq, grant numbers 27724/2018-2 and 307564/2017-7), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, grant numbers 144494 and 88881.172137/2018-01), and Pró-reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Pará (PROPESP—UFPA, s/n).
