ArticleNature communications2022
Microglial debris is cleared by astrocytes via C4b-facilitated phagocytosis and degraded via RUBICON-dependent noncanonical autophagy in mice.
Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed.
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- BDKRB2 upregulation by dystrophic microglia drives pain hypersensitivity in aged mice.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Astrocytes in Multiple Sclerosis: Getting to the Core.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Astrocyte-specific NRCAM deficiency promotes GABAergic synapse pruning to drive central sensitization in bone cancer pain.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Physical exercise promotes white matter repair after ischemic stroke.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Delayed microglial depletion protects against white matter injury following neonatal cerebral hemorrhage in mice.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- NLRP6 governs hippocampal microglial phagocytosis to resist stress-induced depressive-like behaviors in mice and the intervention effect of bezafibrate.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Astrocyte Reactivity by Alcohol Dependence in the Central Amygdala.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Axonopathy: mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- Rubicon modulates neuroimmune responses following traumatic brain injury.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Exercise alleviates cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease mice via skeletal muscle-derived extracellular vesicles that enhance plaque clearance by microglia.Nature aging · 2026Article
- The effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection in parental male mice on the transcriptome of their offspring's brain.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- "Stand by me": astrocyte-microglia crosstalk in central nervous system development, homeostasis, injury, and disease.Frontiers in network physiology · 2026Review
- From trigeminal ganglion to cortex: ATG7 emerges as a key integrator of migraine pathways via multi-omics profiling.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- SIRT2 Inhibition promotes microglia LC3-associated phagocytosis via NRF2/CD36 after the experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- C1q limits cystoid edema by maintaining basal β-catenin-dependent signaling and blood-retina barrier function.JCI insight · 2025Article
- Post-translational modifications regulating microglial inflammation in central nervous system disorders: a review.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025Review
- Spatiotemporal Immune Dynamics in Experimental Retinal Ganglion Cell Injury Models.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Review
- Altered Neuroinflammatory Transcriptomic Profile in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus Three Weeks After Lateral Fluid Percussion Injury in Rats.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microglia are important immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that undergo turnover throughout the lifespan. If microglial debris is not removed in a timely manner, accumulated debris may influence CNS function. Clearance of microglial debris is crucial for CNS homeostasis. However, underlying mechanisms remain obscure. We here investigate how dead microglia are removed. We find that although microglia can phagocytose microglial debris in vitro, the territory-dependent competition hinders the microglia-to-microglial debris engulfment in vivo. In contrast, microglial debris is mainly phagocytosed by astrocytes in the brain, facilitated by C4b opsonization. The engulfed microglial fragments are then degraded in astrocytes via RUBICON-dependent LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP), a form of noncanonical autophagy. Interference with C4b-mediated engulfment and subsequent LAP disrupt the removal and degradation of microglial debris, respectively. Together, we elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of microglial debris removal in mice, extending the knowledge on the maintenance of CNS homeostasis.
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