Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013:2013:608654.
doi: 10.1155/2013/608654. Epub 2013 Apr 18.

Microglial dysregulation in psychiatric disease

Luciana Romina Frick  1 , Kyle Williams, Christopher Pittenger
Affiliations
Review

Microglial dysregulation in psychiatric disease

Luciana Romina Frick et al. Clin Dev Immunol. 2013.

Abstract

Microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, are phagocytes of the macrophage lineage that have a key role in responding to inflammation and immune challenge in the brain. More recently, they have been shown to have a number of important roles beyond immune surveillance and response, including synaptic pruning during development and the support of adult neurogenesis. Microglial abnormalities have been found in several neuropsychiatric conditions, though in most cases it remains unclear whether these are causative or are a reaction to some other underlying pathophysiology. Here we summarize postmortem, animal, neuroimaging, and other evidence for microglial pathology in major depression, schizophrenia, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette syndrome. We identify gaps in the existing literature and important areas for future research. If microglial pathology proves to be an important causative factor in these or other neuropsychiatric diseases, modulators of microglial function may represent a novel therapeutic strategy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Distribution of Iba1+ microglial cells in the mouse hippocampus. Total cells are stained with fast red. (b) High magnification of microglial staining in the striatum, showing cell bodies and ramifications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Paolicelli RC, Bolasco G, Pagani F, et al. Synaptic pruning by microglia is necessary for normal brain development. Science. 2011;333(6048):1456–1458. - PubMed
    1. Ji K, Akgul G, Wollmuth LP, Tsirka SE. Microglia actively regulate the number of functional synapses. PLOS ONE. 2013;8(2)e56293 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schafer DP, Lehrman EK, Kautzman AG, et al. Microglia sculpt postnatal neural circuits in an activity and complement-dependent manner. Neuron. 2012;74(4):691–705. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sierra A, Encinas JM, Deudero JJP, et al. Microglia shape adult hippocampal neurogenesis through apoptosis-coupled phagocytosis. Cell Stem Cell. 2010;7(4):483–495. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Duman R, Aghajanian G. Synaptic dysfunction in depression: potential therapeutic targets. Science. 2012;338(6103):68–72. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms