Dual extra-retinal origins of microglia in the model of retinal microglia repopulation

作者：Yubin Huang, Zhen Xu, Shanshan Xiong, Guangrong Qin, Fangfang Sun, Jian Yang, Ti‐Fei Yuan, Lei Zhao, Ke Wang, Yu-Xiang Liang, Лин Фу, Tianzhun Wu, Kwok‐Fai So, Yanxia Rao, Bo Peng · 发表于：Cell Discovery · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1038/s41421-018-0011-8 · 被引用次数：153 · 研究领域：Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms、Retinal Diseases and Treatments、Immune cells in cancer

Elucidating the origin of microglia is crucial for understanding their functions and homeostasis. Previous study has indicated that Nestin-positive progenitor cells differentiate into microglia and replenish the brain after depleting most brain microglia. Microglia have also shown the capacity to repopulate the retina after eliminating all retinal microglia. However, the origin(s) of repopulated retinal microglia is/are unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the origins of repopulated microglia in the retina. Interestingly, we find that repopulated retinal microglia are not derived from Nestin-positive progenitor cells. Instead, they have two origins: the center-emerging microglia are derived from residual microglia in the optic nerve and the periphery-emerging microglia are derived from macrophages in the ciliary body/iris. Therefore, we have for the first time identified the extra-retinal origins of microglia in the adult mammalian retina by using a model of microglial repopulation, which may shed light on the target exploration of therapeutic interventions for retinal degenerative disorders.