{"id":258169,"date":"2024-09-03T17:26:35","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T17:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/03\/how-understanding-the-brains-microglia-could-end-neurodegeneration\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:11:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:11:36","slug":"how-understanding-the-brains-microglia-could-end-neurodegeneration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/03\/how-understanding-the-brains-microglia-could-end-neurodegeneration\/","title":{"rendered":"How understanding the brain\u2019s microglia could end neurodegeneration"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"New<\/div>
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

As you read this sentence, an army of cells patrols your brain. These soldiers slip around neurons, using their gangly appendages to search for threats. If one of them detects a pathogen or injury, it springs into action. Swelling up and descending in a voracious attack, it releases chemicals that signal for its comrades to join the fight.<\/p>\n

Known as microglia, these specialised immune cells are our brains\u2019 premier defenders. They protect us from invaders, clear away debris and maintain connections between neurons to ensure the brain remains in peak condition.<\/p>\n

Yet, despite their vigilance, microglia can sometimes engage in friendly fire, with a growing body of evidence suggesting they may be the engineers behind some of the brain\u2019s most intractable conditions, such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease and depression. If that is the case, targeting our wayward defenders \u2013 or even replacing them with rejuvenated troops \u2013 may lead to exciting new therapies.<\/p>\n

Microglia were discovered in 1919 by neuroscientist P\u00edo del R\u00edo Hortega<\/a>. While experimenting with novel ways of staining brain tissue, he stumbled across these new cells and named them after the ancient Greek words for \u201csmall\u201d and \u201cglue\u201d.<\/p>\n

This turned out to be an ill-fitting description. Other than their splotchy appearance, microglia have few glue-like qualities. Instead, they are some of the most dynamic cells in the body, roaming the brain with spindly, tentacle-like projections that expand and retract in response to changes in their environment.<\/p>\n

How microglia function<\/h2>\n

Microglia are a form of macrophage, a type of immune cell whose roles\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

[ad_2]
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] As you read this sentence, an army of cells patrols your brain. These soldiers slip around neurons, using their gangly appendages to search for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258169"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}