ArticleCell2021
Microglia jointly degrade fibrillar alpha-synuclein cargo by distribution through tunneling nanotubes.
Article in Cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 230 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
230 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 327 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immune regulation in mitochondrial transfer: knowledge structure and emerging trends from a bibliometric perspective.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Therapeutic role of mesenchymal stem cells in neurogenesis for management of neurological disorders: a scientometric study to an in-depth review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Intercellular Mitochondrial Transfer in the Nervous System: Roles of Tunneling Nanotubes, Mitochondrial Extracellular Vesicles, and Neuroimmune Bioenergetic Interactions.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Cholesterol dysregulation in APOE4 astrocytes promotes α-synuclein pathology in miBrains.Cell stem cell · 2026Article
- Regulation and function of specialized membrane protrusions in intercellular communication.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
- Microglia and neuroinflammation: An in-depth analysis from functional diversity to disease mechanisms.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Review
- TAB2 Causes Neuronal Damage by Aggravating Microglia-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's Disease.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Neurodegenerative diseases and immune system: From pathogenic mechanism to therapy.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Multiple system atrophy: cure and care.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Microglia extract neuronal proteolytic organelles via skoupocytosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Lactate dynamics in Parkinson's disease: striatal circuit vulnerability, biomarker potential, and therapeutic windows.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Review
- α-Synuclein triggers intercellular nanotubes formation to prevent apoptosis in astroglia by promoting stemness.Cell & bioscience · 2026Article
- Microglial tunneling nanotubes: an intercellular transfer facilitating mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation in experimental cerebral malaria.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026Article
- Tunnelling Nanotube-Mediated Lysosome Sharing Promotes Osteocyte Survival via Transcellular Autophagy.Cell proliferation · 2026Article
- Borrowed mitochondria, spared neurons.Cell research · 2026Article
- Mitochondria transfer in glioblastoma.Neuro-oncology · 2026Review
- Galectin-9 activates microglial asparagine endopeptidase and promotes α-synuclein pathology in Parkinson's disease.Cell death and differentiation · 2026Article
- The vicious cycle: unraveling the interplay between α-synuclein, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease.Journal of neurology · 2026Review
- The molecular architecture of tunneling nanotubes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
170 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Microglia are the CNS resident immune cells that react to misfolded proteins through pattern recognition receptor ligation and activation of inflammatory pathways. Here, we studied how microglia handle and cope with α-synuclein (α-syn) fibrils and their clearance. We found that microglia exposed to α-syn establish a cellular network through the formation of F-actin-dependent intercellular connections, which transfer α-syn from overloaded microglia to neighboring naive microglia where the α-syn cargo got rapidly and effectively degraded. Lowering the α-syn burden attenuated the inflammatory profile of microglia and improved their survival. This degradation strategy was compromised in cells carrying the LRRK2 G2019S mutation. We confirmed the intercellular transfer of α-syn assemblies in microglia using organotypic slice cultures, 2-photon microscopy, and neuropathology of patients. Together, these data identify a mechanism by which microglia create an "on-demand" functional network in order to improve pathogenic α-syn clearance.
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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.