Fu Jiao, Wang RuoXuan, He JiHui, Liu XiaoJing, Wang XinXin, Yao JuMing, Liu Ye, Ran ChongZhao, Ye QingSong, He Yan
Institute of Regenerative and Translational Medicine, Tianyou Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
First Clinical College, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Immunol. 2025 Feb 14;16:1508023. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1508023. eCollection 2025.
Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, continuously monitor the brain's microenvironment through their array of specific receptors. Once brain function is altered, microglia are recruited to specific sites to perform their immune functions, including phagocytosis of misfolded proteins, cellular debris, and apoptotic cells to maintain homeostasis. When toxic substances are overproduced, microglia are over-activated to produce large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which induce chronic inflammatory responses and lead to neurotoxicity. Additionally, microglia can also monitor and protect neuronal function through microglia-neuron crosstalk. Microglia receptors are important mediators for microglia to receive external stimuli, regulate the functional state of microglia, and transmit signals between cells. In this paper, we first review the role of microglia-expressed receptors in the pathogenesis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease; moreover, we emphasize the complexity of targeting microglia for therapeutic interventions in neurodegenerative disorders to inform the discovery of new biomarkers and the development of innovative therapeutics.
小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统中的常驻免疫细胞，它们通过一系列特定受体持续监测大脑的微环境。一旦脑功能发生改变，小胶质细胞就会被招募到特定部位以执行其免疫功能，包括吞噬错误折叠的蛋白质、细胞碎片和凋亡细胞以维持体内平衡。当有毒物质过度产生时，小胶质细胞会过度激活，产生大量促炎细胞因子，引发慢性炎症反应并导致神经毒性。此外，小胶质细胞还可以通过小胶质细胞 - 神经元相互作用来监测和保护神经元功能。小胶质细胞受体是小胶质细胞接收外部刺激、调节小胶质细胞功能状态以及在细胞间传递信号的重要介质。在本文中，我们首先综述了小胶质细胞表达的受体在阿尔茨海默病发病机制和治疗中的作用；此外，我们强调了针对小胶质细胞进行神经退行性疾病治疗干预的复杂性，以为新生物标志物的发现和创新疗法的开发提供参考。
