Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Author: Martin Avila | Email: mmartinnavila@gmail.com
Martin Avila1°2°, Ana Laura López1°,Leandro Freites1°2°3°, Agata Rita Carpentieri4°, Estela Maris Muñoz1°
1° Laboratorio de Neurobiología Básica y Traslacional, IHEM-UNCuyo-CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina
2° Integrated Neuromics Laboratory, Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
3° Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
4° INICSA-UNC-CONICET; Cátedra B de Química Biológica-Facultad de Odontología-UNC, Córdoba, Argentina
Cerebellar microglia have increased immune surveillance and phagocytic capacity compared with microglial populations from other brain regions maintaining contact, especially with Purkinje neuronal cells during adulthood. As the cerebellum is a region poorly affected during age-related neurodegenerative diseases, we hypothesized that cerebellar microglia execute their functions correctly during aging, avoiding the accumulation of aberrant proteins and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. To test this we evaluated cell morphology, lysosomal functions, and proinflammatory cytokine levels in aged rat cerebella, and compared them with young specimens. We found that microglia migrated to the Purkinje neuron layer during aging, still contacting them at the soma and dendritic arbor levels. Morphologically, they became more ameboid and reactive, showing increased accumulation of lysosomal markers. Surprisingly, this was not correlated with an increment in proinflammatory cytokine levels. Our analysis underscores the evolving phenotypes of cerebellar microglia with age, characterized by features of reactive microglia but notably lacking an inflammatory profile. All this leads us to think that cerebellar microglia might still be good sentinels, fighting satisfactorily against damage, and preventing or delaying neurodegeneration in the organ.