UENO Masaki, FUJITA Yuki,YAMASHITA Toshihide ≪Molecular Neuroscience≫ “Layer V cortical neurons require microglial support for survival during postnatal development”
2013-3-25
PublishNature Neuroscience (2013)
Neurons require trophic support during neural circuit formation; however, it remains unclear how the cellular milieu contributes to neuronal survival. Here, we demonstrate that layer V cortical neurons require support from microglia for survival during postnatal development. Specifically, we found that microglia accumulated close to the subcerebral and callosal projection axons in the postnatal brain. Inactivation of microglia by minocycline treatment or transient ablation of microglia in CD11b-DTR transgenic mice led to increased apoptosis, specifically in layer V subcerebral and callosal projection neurons. CX3CR1 in microglia was required for the survival of layer V neurons. Microglia consistently promoted the survival of cortical neurons in vitro. In addition, we identified microglia-derived IGF1 as a trophic factor that maintained neuronal survival. Our results highlighted a novel neuron-glia interaction that was indispensable for network formation during a specific period in the developing brain.
