Abstract
OPINION article Front. Immunol., 18 November 2014Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity Volume 5 - 2014 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00594
Highlights
These ideas have led to a reassessment of microglia activity, leading many researchers to shift their thinking on glial biology in general
It is becoming clear that the responses of microglia, like macrophages, are heterogeneous: these responses can include proand anti-inflammatory signatures within single cells and small, nearby populations and are driven by the local environment that can supply M1 and M2 polarizing cues simultaneously [9]
It is unclear whether the diverse functional responses observed are a product of many different kinds of microglia subsets or varying ratios of M1 and M2 microglia
Summary
These ideas have led to a reassessment of microglia activity, leading many researchers to shift their thinking on glial biology in general. One of the more outdated concepts carried over from macrophages is the idea that microglia in the healthy brain exist in a “resting” state. Taking cues from ongoing work in peripheral macrophages, this initial concept of microglia “activation” being generally harmful gave way to more specific ideas suggesting there was not just one kind of “activation.” Under the influence of either pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines, microglia could be polarized into an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory phenotype, designated classically and alternatively activated microglia, respectively [7].
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