The microglial reaction signature revealed by RNAseq from individual mice.

Microglial cells have a double life as the immune cells of the brain in times of stress but have also specific physiological functions in homeostatic conditions. In pathological contexts, microglia undergo a phenotypic switch called "reaction" that promotes the initiation and the propagation of neuro-inflammation. Reaction is complex, molecularly heterogeneous and still poorly characterized, leading to the concept that microglial reactivity might be too diverse to be molecularly defined.