PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The pleiotropic cytokine transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGFbeta1) plays pivotal roles in different cell types, including immune cells such as T cells, monocytes/macrophages, and microglia. Microglia are essential during physiological and pathological events. Maturation of postnatal microglia, as well as the regulation of the complex functional repertoire of microglia, needs to be carefully orchestrated. However, an understanding of how mammalian microglia maturation and disease-associated microglia activation is regulated remains fragmentary. Here, we summarize recent observations made by employing transgenic approaches to silence microglial TGFbeta signaling in mice. These revealed that TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta signaling are indispensable for microglia maturation, adult microglia homeostasis, and the control of microglia activation in central nervous system pathologies. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.