ArticleImmunity & ageing : I & A2023
Microglia preserve visual function loss in the aging retina by supporting retinal pigment epithelial health.
Article in Immunity & ageing : I & A, 2023. 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 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Retinal Pigment Epithelium Phagocytosis and Retinal Degenerative Diseases.Aging and disease · 2025Pooled it
- Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Line ARPE-19 Exposed to M1 Microglia Releases Proinflammatory Cytokines and Reactive Oxygen Species Through MAP-Kinase Pathway.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Persistent microglial activation following neonatal CMV infection mediates neurodegeneration.Science advances · 2026Article
- TREM2 in age-related macular degeneration: a microglia-centered perspective in the retinal myeloid landscape.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Review
- Dual immune armies in glaucoma: microglia and monocyte-derived macrophages.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Photoreceptor outer segments promote the accumulation of lipid droplets in microglia by reprogramming lipid metabolism.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Principles of resident tissue macrophages revealed by the eye.Advances in immunology · 2026Review
- 25-hydroxysterol mitigates microgravity-induced retinal damage by suppressing microglial inflammation through disrupting lipid raft formation.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- Sex differences on laser-induced choroidal neovascularization and short-chain fatty acid treatment in a mouse model.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Microglial depletion prevents visual deficits and retinal ganglion cell loss induced by early life stress in adult animals.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effect of immunosuppression on hESC-derived retina organoids in vitro and in vivo.Stem cell research & therapy · 2025Article
- Characterization of the ocular inflammatory response to AAV reveals divergence by sex and age.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2025Article
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- The effects of time restricted feeding on age-related changes in the mouse retina.Experimental gerontology · 2024Article
- Retinal perivascular macrophages regulate immune cell infiltration during neuroinflammation in mouse models of ocular disease.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Article
- Correction: Microglia preserve visual function in the aging retina by supporting retinal pigment epithelial health.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2023Article
- Microglia depletion/repopulation does not affect light-induced retinal degeneration in mice.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIncreased age is a risk factor for the development and progression of retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Understanding the changes that occur in the eye due to aging is important in enhancing our understanding of AMD pathogenesis and the development of novel AMD therapies. Microglia, the resident brain and retinal immune cells are associated with both maintaining homeostasis and protection of neurons and loss of microglia homeostasis could be a significant player in age related neurodegeneration. One important characteristic of retinal aging is the migration of microglia from the inner to outer retina where they reside in the subretinal space (SRS) in contact with the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The role of aged subretinal microglia is unknown. Here, we depleted microglia in aged C57/BL6 mice fed for 6 weeks with a chow containing PLX5622, a small molecule inhibitor of colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (Csf1r) required for microglial survival.
resultsThe subretinal P2RY12 + microglia in aged mice displayed a highly amoeboid and activated morphology and were filled with autofluorescence droplets reminiscent of lipofuscin. TEM indicates that subretinal microglia actively phagocytize shed photoreceptor outer segments, one of the main functions of retinal pigmented epithelial cells. PLX5622 treatment depleted up to 90% of the retinal microglia and was associated with significant loss in visual function. Mice on the microglia depletion diet showed reduced contrast sensitivity and significantly lower electroretinogram for the c-wave, a measurement of RPE functionality, compared to age-matched controls. The loss of c-wave coincided with a loss of RPE cells and increased RPE swelling in the absence of microglia.
conclusionsWe conclude that microglia preserve visual function in aged mice and support RPE cell function, by phagocytosing shed photoreceptor outer segments and lipids, therefore compensating for the known age-related decline of RPE phagocytosis.
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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.