In a zebrafish spinal-root injury model that involves complete severing of a peripheral nerve from the cord, microglia were observed using time-lapse imaging to leave the spinal cord and enter the periphery. Once there, they phagocytose debris from the injury site and re-enter the spinal cord in a morphologically changed state, and were observed to emigrate as far as the brain. This emigration required glutamate-mediated activation of NMDA receptors and was regulated by heterotypic interactions with macrophages. These data reveal that rather than being confined to the CNS, microglia can exit and re-enter central regions.
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Green, L. A., Nebiolo, J. C. & Smith, C. J. Microglia exit the CNS in spinal root avulsion. PLOS Biol. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000159 (2019)
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Lewis, S. The ins and outs of microglia. Nat Rev Neurosci 20, 251 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-019-0156-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-019-0156-y