ArticleThe Journal of experimental medicine2024
Microglia at sites of atrophy restrict the progression of retinal degeneration via galectin-3 and Trem2.
Article in The Journal of experimental medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Retinal Pigment Epithelium Phagocytosis and Retinal Degenerative Diseases.Aging and disease · 2025Pooled it
- Inflammatory Markers and Disease Progression in Moderate-Stage Retinitis Pigmentosa: Longitudinal Analysis from the Retinitis Pigmentosa Progression and Inflammatory Marker Registry Study.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- EGFR inhibition promotes functional engraftment and graft survival via donor-derived CHI3L1 in fetal RPE suspension transplantation.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Hyperreflective Choroidal Foci Characterization Supports the Existence of Different Clinical Phenotypes of Geographic Atrophy.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Neuroinflammation in glaucoma: a myriad of cellular pathways and players.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026Review
- TREM2 restrains myeloid inflammasome activation to protect against photoreceptor degeneration.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- The Transcription Factor 12 of Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Plays an Essential Role in Retinal Health.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Microglial polarization in retinal neovascularization: Friend or foe?Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2026Review
- Vitreoretinal Myeloid Cell Heterogeneity: Diverse Roles in Homeostasis, Immune Surveillance, and Pathophysiology.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2026Review
- Persistent microglial activation following neonatal CMV infection mediates neurodegeneration.Science advances · 2026Article
- Targeting Apolipoprotein E4 rescues photoreceptor degeneration by inhibiting the disease-associated microglia activation in experimental retinal detachment.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Decoding TREM2 Signaling Pathways: Linking Macrophage Glycolysis to Inflammatory Diseases in the CNS.Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Inflammatory Hyperreflective Retinal Foci: An OCT Biomarker of Neuroinflammation in Geographic Atrophy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Selective deletion ofiScience · 2026Article
- Principles of resident tissue macrophages revealed by the eye.Advances in immunology · 2026Review
- A mutation inMolecular vision · 2026Article
- Photoreceptor outer segments promote the accumulation of lipid droplets in microglia by reprogramming lipid metabolism.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Microglia depletion improves hippocampal circuit function after mild traumatic brain injury in male mice.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- A method for distinguishing and separating retinal microglia from infiltrating macrophages during an ocular inflammatory event.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- TREM2 in age-related macular degeneration: a microglia-centered perspective in the retinal myeloid landscape.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
17 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Outer retinal degenerations, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are characterized by photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy. In these blinding diseases, macrophages accumulate at atrophic sites, but their ontogeny and niche specialization remain poorly understood, especially in humans. We uncovered a unique profile of microglia, marked by galectin-3 upregulation, at atrophic sites in mouse models of retinal degeneration and human AMD. In disease models, conditional deletion of galectin-3 in microglia led to phagocytosis defects and consequent augmented photoreceptor death, RPE damage, and vision loss, indicating protective roles. Mechanistically, Trem2 signaling orchestrated microglial migration to atrophic sites and induced galectin-3 expression. Moreover, pharmacologic Trem2 agonization led to heightened protection but in a galectin-3-dependent manner. In elderly human subjects, we identified this highly conserved microglial population that expressed galectin-3 and Trem2. This population was significantly enriched in the macular RPE-choroid of AMD subjects. Collectively, our findings reveal a neuroprotective population of microglia and a potential therapeutic target for mitigating retinal degeneration.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.