As you learn this sentence, a military of cells patrols your mind. These troopers slip round neurons, utilizing their gangly appendages to seek for threats. If one among them detects a pathogen or damage, it springs into motion. Swelling up and descending in a voracious assault, it releases chemical compounds that sign for its comrades to affix the battle.
Often known as microglia, these specialised immune cells are our brains’ premier defenders. They defend us from invaders, clear away particles and preserve connections between neurons to make sure the mind stays in peak situation.
But, regardless of their vigilance, microglia can generally interact in pleasant fireplace, with a rising physique of proof suggesting they would be the engineers behind a number of the mind’s most intractable circumstances, equivalent to Alzheimer’s illness and despair. If that’s the case, concentrating on our wayward defenders – and even changing them with rejuvenated troops – might result in thrilling new therapies.
Microglia had been found in 1919 by neuroscientist Pío del Río Hortega. Whereas experimenting with novel methods of staining mind tissue, he stumbled throughout these new cells and named them after the traditional Greek phrases for “small” and “glue”.
This turned out to be an ill-fitting description. Apart from their splotchy look, microglia have few glue-like qualities. As an alternative, they’re a number of the most dynamic cells within the physique, roaming the mind with spindly, tentacle-like projections that broaden and retract in response to adjustments of their surroundings.
How microglia perform
Microglia are a type of macrophage, a kind of immune cell whose roles…
