Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue
Neuroinflammation has recently been identified as a fundamentally important pathological process in most, if not all, CNS diseases. The main contributor to neuroinflammation is the microglia, which constitute the innate immune response system. Accurate identification of microglia and their reactivit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Biomolecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/5/603 |
| _version_ | 1797501295072903168 |
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| author | Christopher E. G. Uff Karishma Patel Charming Yeung Ping K. Yip |
| author_facet | Christopher E. G. Uff Karishma Patel Charming Yeung Ping K. Yip |
| author_sort | Christopher E. G. Uff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neuroinflammation has recently been identified as a fundamentally important pathological process in most, if not all, CNS diseases. The main contributor to neuroinflammation is the microglia, which constitute the innate immune response system. Accurate identification of microglia and their reactivity state is therefore essential to further our understanding of CNS pathophysiology. Many staining techniques have been used to visualise microglia in rodent and human tissue, and immunostaining is currently the most frequently used. Historically, identification of microglia was predominantly based on morphological structure, however, recently there has been a reliance on selective antigen expression, and microglia-specific markers have been identified providing increased certainty that the cells observed are in fact microglia, rather than the similar yet distinct macrophages. To date, the most microglia-specific markers are P2Y12 and TMEM119. However, other microglia-related markers can also be useful for demonstrating activation state, phagocytic state, and for neuroimaging purposes in longitudinal studies. Overall, it is important to be aware of the microglia-selectivity issues of the various stains and immunomarkers used by researchers to distinguish microglia in CNS tissue to avoid misinterpretation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:16:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-32f5ae84f38b4d6d9487f93e09cf48a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:16:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomolecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-32f5ae84f38b4d6d9487f93e09cf48a12023-11-23T10:12:48ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2022-04-0112560310.3390/biom12050603Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System TissueChristopher E. G. Uff0Karishma Patel1Charming Yeung2Ping K. Yip3Centre for Neuroscience, Surgery and Trauma, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AT, UKSchool of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2TQ, UKCentre for Neuroscience, Surgery and Trauma, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AT, UKCentre for Neuroscience, Surgery and Trauma, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AT, UKNeuroinflammation has recently been identified as a fundamentally important pathological process in most, if not all, CNS diseases. The main contributor to neuroinflammation is the microglia, which constitute the innate immune response system. Accurate identification of microglia and their reactivity state is therefore essential to further our understanding of CNS pathophysiology. Many staining techniques have been used to visualise microglia in rodent and human tissue, and immunostaining is currently the most frequently used. Historically, identification of microglia was predominantly based on morphological structure, however, recently there has been a reliance on selective antigen expression, and microglia-specific markers have been identified providing increased certainty that the cells observed are in fact microglia, rather than the similar yet distinct macrophages. To date, the most microglia-specific markers are P2Y12 and TMEM119. However, other microglia-related markers can also be useful for demonstrating activation state, phagocytic state, and for neuroimaging purposes in longitudinal studies. Overall, it is important to be aware of the microglia-selectivity issues of the various stains and immunomarkers used by researchers to distinguish microglia in CNS tissue to avoid misinterpretation.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/5/603microglianeuroinflammationimmunostainingimmunohistochemistry |
| spellingShingle | Christopher E. G. Uff Karishma Patel Charming Yeung Ping K. Yip Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue Biomolecules microglia neuroinflammation immunostaining immunohistochemistry |
| title | Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue |
| title_full | Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue |
| title_fullStr | Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue |
| title_short | Advances in Visualizing Microglial Cells in Human Central Nervous System Tissue |
| title_sort | advances in visualizing microglial cells in human central nervous system tissue |
| topic | microglia neuroinflammation immunostaining immunohistochemistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/5/603 |
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