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      Microglia regulate the number of neural precursor cells in the developing cerebral cortex.

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          Abstract

          Neurogenesis must be properly regulated to ensure that cell production does not exceed the requirements of the growing cerebral cortex, yet our understanding of mechanisms that restrain neuron production remains incomplete. We investigated the function of microglial cells in the developing cerebral cortex of prenatal and postnatal macaques and rats and show that microglia limit the production of cortical neurons by phagocytosing neural precursor cells. We show that microglia selectively colonize the cortical proliferative zones and phagocytose neural precursor cells as neurogenesis nears completion. We found that deactivating microglia in utero with tetracyclines or eliminating microglia from the fetal cerebral cortex with liposomal clodronate significantly increased the number of neural precursor cells, while activating microglia in utero through maternal immune activation significantly decreased the number of neural precursor cells. These data demonstrate that microglia play a fundamental role in regulating the size of the precursor cell pool in the developing cerebral cortex, expanding our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate cortical development. Furthermore, our data suggest that any factor that alters the number or activation state of microglia in utero can profoundly affect neural development and affect behavioral outcomes.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          J Neurosci
          The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
          Society for Neuroscience
          1529-2401
          0270-6474
          Mar 06 2013
          : 33
          : 10
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California 95817, USA.
          Article
          33/10/4216 NIHMS453181
          10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3441-12.2013
          3711552
          23467340
          ce45b231-dfa6-4460-88f6-4f30b7ff61f5
          History

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