ArticleBrain : a journal of neurology2016
Eliminating microglia in Alzheimer's mice prevents neuronal loss without modulating amyloid-β pathology.
Article in Brain : a journal of neurology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 415 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
415 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The impact of CSF1R inhibitor-mediated microglial depletion in rodent models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- The Key Drivers of Brain Injury by Systemic Inflammatory Responses after Sepsis: Microglia and Neuroinflammation.Molecular neurobiology · 2023Pooled it
- uPAR exhibits age- and region-dependent expression in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease-like pathology.Brain research · 2026Article
- Article
- Voluntary Exercise and Hippocampal Memory Enhancement: Decoding the Molecular Blueprint.Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2026Review
- State-Dependent Alterations of Hippocampal Theta-Gamma Coupling in 5xFAD Mice and Their Differential Modulation by Donepezil.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- 7-ketocholesterol contributes to microglia-driven increases in astrocyte reactive oxygen species in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- CSF1R inhibition following antibody mediated demyelination has limited impact on remyelination.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2026Article
- Regional mapping of CSF1R-positive microglia in neurodegenerative diseases and progressive MS, with exploratory presynaptic marker analyses.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Review
- Neuregulin-1 facilitates myelin regeneration through microglia-mediated mechanisms in a mouse model of chronic demyelination.Nature communications · 2026Article
- PLX5622 did not alter anxiety-like behaviour and showed limited microglial depletion efficacy in a spinal cord injury model in female rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric lupus centered on innate immune activation.Human cell · 2026Review
- Plaque-associated Microglial Polarization in Visual Brain Regions of the 5xFAD Mouse Model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Circular RNA aptamers targeting neuroinflammation ameliorate Alzheimer disease phenotypes in mouse models.Nature biotechnology · 2026Article
- Microglia-Neuron Crosstalk: An Intimate Molecular Conversation in Neurodegeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Microglia replacement by peripheral delivery of CSF1R inhibitor-resistant hematopoietic cells.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2026Article
- Functional border-associated macrophages limit Alzheimer's Disease progression.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- KCC2 Dysfunction Mediated by Microglial BDNF/TrkB Signaling Exacerbates Early Post-Stroke Seizure Susceptibility.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Interplay between Peripheral and Central Nervous System Myeloid Cells during Aging: Impact for Lade-Life Depression and Alzheimer's Disease.Neuroimmunomodulation · 2026Review
355 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In addition to amyloid-β plaque and tau neurofibrillary tangle deposition, neuroinflammation is considered a key feature of Alzheimer's disease pathology. Inflammation in Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of reactive astrocytes and activated microglia surrounding amyloid plaques, implicating their role in disease pathogenesis. Microglia in the healthy adult mouse depend on colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) signalling for survival, and pharmacological inhibition of this receptor results in rapid elimination of nearly all of the microglia in the central nervous system. In this study, we set out to determine if chronically activated microglia in the Alzheimer's disease brain are also dependent on CSF1R signalling, and if so, how these cells contribute to disease pathogenesis. Ten-month-old 5xfAD mice were treated with a selective CSF1R inhibitor for 1 month, resulting in the elimination of ∼80% of microglia. Chronic microglial elimination does not alter amyloid-β levels or plaque load; however, it does rescue dendritic spine loss and prevent neuronal loss in 5xfAD mice, as well as reduce overall neuroinflammation. Importantly, behavioural testing revealed improvements in contextual memory. Collectively, these results demonstrate that microglia contribute to neuronal loss, as well as memory impairments in 5xfAD mice, but do not mediate or protect from amyloid pathology.
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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.