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Workshop W1: Microgia–Aiding and Abetting Neurodegeneration?

Microglial reactivity is increasingly implicated in the signalling cascades in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Prion disease, HIV/AIDS neuropathy and acute conditions such as stroke. There is also mounting evidence that microglia play a fundamental role in the survival and health of neurons in normal brain. To this end, it is important that strategies are developed which can control microglial activation to allow for the potentiation of protective and beneficial properties while reducing detrimental effects. One putative target is via modulation of neurotransmitter receptor signalling on microglia. Microglia express a range of neurotransmitter receptors which can allow microglia to respond very rapidly to signalling input from adjacent macroglia and neurons in both acute situations and chronic neurodegenerative conditions. While damaged neurons may influence microglial behaviour via increased release of neurotransmitter, the compromised properties of extensively damaged and dying neurons together with their substantial loss in the long term may permit a release of control of microglial behaviour, to fuel a chronic, recruiting response. We have determined that microglia express functional neurotransmitter receptors for glutamate and that the activation of these receptors has ramifications for microglial reactivity and toxicity. Furthermore the plasticity of expression of these receptors has consequences for microglial reactivity.