ArticleNature neuroscience2020
Lipid-droplet-accumulating microglia represent a dysfunctional and proinflammatory state in the aging brain.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 902 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
902 citing papers in PubMed.
- Lipid droplets as redox-active organelles after spinal cord injury: lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2026Review
- Failure of Neuroinflammatory Resolution in Brain Aging: Molecular Mechanisms and an Integrative Framework of Microglial Inflammometabolic Locking.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Microglia in Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders: Pathogenic Mechanisms and Emerging Concepts of Microglial Heterogeneity.Neurochemical research · 2026Review
- Exercise promotes lipophagy and mitigates cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease through downregulating microglial TMEM9.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Article
- RIPK1 Links Metabolic Stresses to Inflammatory and Degenerative Pathways in Alzheimer's Disease.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Microglial states revisited: from homeostasis to disease.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Metabolic reprogramming of microglia: Effects on development, disease, and therapeutic potential.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Sparse neuronal C4 elevation induces network-wide transcriptomic and lipid-droplet remodeling in the cortical microenvironment.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Spinal cord microglia exhibit a dysfunctional response to myelin damage.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2026Article
- Effects of obesity on brain health and cognition.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Beyond neurons: Impact of cannabidiol on glial cells in ischemic stroke.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Lipophagy and lipid droplets in neurodegeneration.Trends in pharmacological sciences · 2026Review
- ApoE lipidation state directs immunometabolic reprogramming of human microglia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Glial cells in neuropathic pain.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Cellular and systemic modifiers of alpha-synuclein proteostasis.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Review
- Microglia-derived extracellular vesicle content as a biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- DHA deficiency drives neural oxidized-lipid stress and microglial activation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- PLXDC2 siRNA-Mediated Intervention Attenuates Microglial Senescence Through cGAS-STING Signaling.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Myeloid deficiency of RORα exacerbates lipid dysregulation and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization.Angiogenesis · 2026Article
- Hippocampal AdipoR1 regulates the microglial response and delays disease progression in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
842 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Microglia become progressively activated and seemingly dysfunctional with age, and genetic studies have linked these cells to the pathogenesis of a growing number of neurodegenerative diseases. Here we report a striking buildup of lipid droplets in microglia with aging in mouse and human brains. These cells, which we call 'lipid-droplet-accumulating microglia' (LDAM), are defective in phagocytosis, produce high levels of reactive oxygen species and secrete proinflammatory cytokines. RNA-sequencing analysis of LDAM revealed a transcriptional profile driven by innate inflammation that is distinct from previously reported microglial states. An unbiased CRISPR-Cas9 screen identified genetic modifiers of lipid droplet formation; surprisingly, variants of several of these genes, including progranulin (GRN), are causes of autosomal-dominant forms of human neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore propose that LDAM contribute to age-related and genetic forms of neurodegeneration.
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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.