ArticleNature communications2014
Microglial displacement of inhibitory synapses provides neuroprotection in the adult brain.
Article in Nature communications, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 173 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
173 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 309 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of differentially abundant proteins in people with Lewy body dementia.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2025Pooled it
- MiR‑204‑5p modulates glial morphology and apomorphine‑induced rotational asymmetry without dopaminergic neuroprotection in a preclinical mouse model of Parkinson's disease.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- Restoration of gamma-aminobutyric acid homeostasis: A novel approach to alleviating central nervous system injury-associated immunodepression syndrome.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Glial-neuronal crosstalk via GABA signaling: mechanistic insights into neuropsychiatric and neurological pathophysiology.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Deep cerebellar stimulation restores chronic motor deficits and loss of GABAergic neurons following sensorimotor cortex surgical brain injury in female rats.Experimental neurology · 2026Article
- Astrocyte-to-microglia purinergic signaling mediates synaptic shielding and promotes neuronal activity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Iba1 deficiency impairs microglial synaptic remodeling and neuronal survival after axonal injury.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- From neuroinflammation to neural inference: computational psychiatry meets precision medicine.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- The axon initial segment-associated microglia regulate neuronal activity and visual perception.Cell research · 2026Article
- Timed microglia depletion promotes functional network reorganization and motor recovery after stroke.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Microglial pathological synaptic pruning in epilepsy: pathophysiology and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- USP11-PGAM5 Axis Promotes Neurotoxic Astrocyte Reactivity by Aggravating the mtDNA-cGAS-STING Pathway After Intracerebral Hemorrhage.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Light-based 40 Hz sensory therapy for brain disorders: physiological basis, therapeutic mechanisms, and future prospects.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Targeting glial cells: Unveiling the neuroprotective mechanisms of Ginseng in the brain microenvironment.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Review
- Dysregulated Microglial Synaptic Engulfment in Diffuse Midline Glioma.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Microglia drive synaptic and functional connectivity deficits in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome by affecting inhibition.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2025Article
- Satellite microglia gate neuronal excitability by shielding inhibitory synapses in adult brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Clinically Inspired Multimodal Treatment Using Induced Neural Stem Cells-Derived Exosomes Promotes Recovery of Traumatic Brain Injury through Microglial Modulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture Pretreatment Alleviates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Inhibiting Engulfment by Microglia in the Lateral Hypothalamus.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Article
113 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microglia actively survey the brain microenvironment and play essential roles in sculpting synaptic connections during brain development. While microglial functions in the adult brain are less clear, activated microglia can closely appose neuronal cell bodies and displace axosomatic presynaptic terminals. Microglia-mediated stripping of presynaptic terminals is considered neuroprotective, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms are poorly defined. Using 3D electron microscopy, we demonstrate that activated microglia displace inhibitory presynaptic terminals from cortical neurons in adult mice. Electrophysiological recordings further establish that the reduction in inhibitory GABAergic synapses increased synchronized firing of cortical neurons in γ-frequency band. Increased neuronal activity results in the calcium-mediated activation of CaM kinase IV, phosphorylation of CREB, increased expression of antiapoptotic and neurotrophic molecules and reduced apoptosis of cortical neurons following injury. These results indicate that activated microglia can protect the adult brain by migrating to inhibitory synapses and displacing them from cortical neurons.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.