Microglia contact cerebral vasculature through gaps between astrocyte endfeet.

J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

Center for Translational Neuromedicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, Denmark.

Published: December 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Approximately 20% of microglia were found to form "plugs," or direct contact points with blood vessels, predominantly located near the cell body and favored near venules.
  • This research highlights the significance of microglial contact with endothelial cells over pericytes, providing a basis for understanding how these interactions influence brain function and disease.

Article Abstract

The close spatial relationship between microglia and cerebral blood vessels implicates microglia in vascular development, homeostasis and disease. In this study we used the publicly available Cortical MM^3 electron microscopy dataset to systematically investigate microglial interactions with the vasculature. Our analysis revealed that approximately 20% of microglia formed direct contacts with blood vessels through gaps between adjacent astrocyte endfeet. We termed these contact points "plugs". Plug-forming microglia exhibited closer proximity to blood vessels than non-plug forming microglia and formed multiple plugs, predominantly near the soma, ranging in surface area from ∼0.01 μm to ∼15 μm. Plugs were enriched at the venule end of the vascular tree and displayed a preference for contacting endothelial cells over pericytes at a ratio of 3:1. In summary, we provide novel insights into the ultrastructural relationship between microglia and the vasculature, laying a foundation for understanding how these contacts contribute to the functional cross-talk between microglia and cells of the vasculature in health and disease.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0271678X241280775DOI Listing

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