Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40858363›Full record

ArticleGenome research2025

Molecular and genetic landscapes of retina and brain microglia in neurodegenerative diseases.

Khang Ma, Rinki Ratnapriya

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Genome research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Khang MaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Rinki RatnapriyaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA; rpriya@bcm.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-0469-4631

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microglia-driven dysregulation has emerged as a significant underlying mechanism in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although both brain and retinal microglia originate from the yolk sac, it is uncertain whether they share molecular similarities or genetic and molecular foundations related to neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we examine the transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles of retina and brain microglia through integrative analyses of single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and single-nucleus ATAC sequencing (snATAC-seq) from 97 independent human samples across 11 different studies. Our findings reveal that retina and brain microglia share similar expression and regulatory profiles compared with other cell types in the retina and brain. By integrating genome-wide association study (GWAS) data with gene expression profiles, we demonstrate that genetic variants associated with AMD and AD are linked to microglia-specific gene signatures. Furthermore, integrating regulatory annotations with GWAS data shows that susceptibility loci for both AMD and AD are notably enriched in the open chromatin regions of microglia from the brain and retina, emphasizing their relevance to these neurodegenerative conditions. Finally, a comparison with microglia annotations from other tissues highlights the specific enrichment of microglia in relation to neurodegenerative diseases. These findings contribute to the understanding of the role of microglia in AMD and AD pathogenesis and offer an opportunity to utilize resources from both retinal and brain microglia to deepen our understanding of their contributions to genetic variations in neurodegenerative diseases.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBrainMacular DegenerationMicrogliaNeurodegenerative DiseasesRetinaEpigenesis, GeneticGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansTranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID40858363
PMCPMC12487699

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Registered trials

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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.