ArticleAddiction biology2021
Microglia depletion and alcohol: Transcriptome and behavioral profiles.
Article in Addiction biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Context-dependent effects of microglial MyD88 removal on voluntary ethanol consumption in mice.Neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Repeated TLR7 activation induces cell type- and brain region-specific transcriptome changes in male mice.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- EFFECTS OF TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR 3 - DEPENDENT IMMUNE ACTIVATION IN MICE ARE SEX- AND TISSUE- SPECIFIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDER.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Conserved Cell-Type-Specific Transcriptomic Networks and Regulatory Programs Underlie Alcohol Dependence Across Mouse and Human.Research square · 2026Article
- Microglia Promote Neurodegeneration and Hyperkatifeia during Withdrawal and Abstinence from Binge Alcohol.The American journal of pathology · 2026Article
- Sex differences in the neuroimmune response following heavy, binge-like alcohol exposure in adolescent rats.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2025Article
- Chronic alcohol consumption induces phenotypic and functional alterations consistent with a hyper-inflammatory state in peripheral blood mononuclear cell-derived microglia in a rhesus macaque model.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Microglia promote neurodegeneration and hyperkatifeia during withdrawal and prolonged abstinence from binge alcohol.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Potential roles for microglia in drug addiction: Adolescent neurodevelopment and beyond.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2025Review
- Thiamine Deficiency and Neuroinflammation Are Important Contributors to Alcohol Use Disorder.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2025Review
- Alcohol drinking is attenuated by PDE4 inhibition but partial microglia depletion is not sufficient to block stress-induced escalation of alcohol intake in female mice.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Alcohol Use Disorder and the Gut-Brain Axis: A Narrative Review of the Role of Gut Microbiota and Implications for Treatment.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Role of glial cells in neurotoxicological effects of alcohol.Advances in neurotoxicology · 2025Article
- Toll-like receptor 7: A novel neuroimmune target to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Epigenetic regulation of microglia and neurons by proinflammatory signaling following adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure and in human AUD.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2024Review
- Alcohol, HMGB1, and Innate Immune Signaling in the Brain.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2024Review
- Cell-type brain-region specific changes in prefrontal cortex of a mouse model of alcohol dependence.Neurobiology of disease · 2024Article
- Effects of repeated alcohol abstinence on within-subject prefrontal cortical gene expression in rhesus macaques.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2024Article
- Distinguishing the effects of systemic CSF1R inhibition by PLX3397 on microglia and peripheral immune cells.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- Targeting Persistent Changes in Neuroimmune and Epigenetic Signaling in Adolescent Drinking to Treat Alcohol Use Disorder in Adulthood.Pharmacological reviews · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Alcohol abuse induces changes in microglia morphology and immune function, but whether microglia initiate or simply amplify the harmful effects of alcohol exposure is still a matter of debate. Here, we determine microglia function in acute and voluntary drinking behaviors using a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor (PLX5622). We show that microglia depletion does not alter the sedative or hypnotic effects of acute intoxication. Microglia depletion also does not change the escalation or maintenance of chronic voluntary alcohol consumption. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that although many immune genes have been implicated in alcohol abuse, downregulation of microglia genes does not necessitate changes in alcohol intake. Instead, microglia depletion and chronic alcohol result in compensatory upregulation of alcohol-responsive, reactive astrocyte genes, indicating astrocytes may play a role in regulation of these alcohol behaviors. Taken together, our behavioral and transcriptional data indicate that microglia are not the primary effector cell responsible for regulation of acute and voluntary alcohol behaviors. Because microglia depletion did not regulate acute or voluntary alcohol behaviors, we hypothesized that these doses were insufficient to activate microglia and recruit them to an effector phenotype. Therefore, we used a model of repeated immune activation using polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) to activate microglia. Microglia depletion blocked poly(I:C)-induced escalations in alcohol intake, indicating microglia regulate drinking behaviors with sufficient immune activation. By testing the functional role of microglia in alcohol behaviors, we provide insight into when microglia are causal and when they are consequential for the transition from alcohol use to dependence.
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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.