Typical development of synaptic and neuronal properties can proceed without microglia in the cortex and thalamus

Abstract Brain-resident macrophages, microglia, have been proposed to have an active role in synaptic refinement and maturation, influencing plasticity and circuit-level connectivity. Here we show that several neurodevelopmental processes previously attributed to microglia can proceed without them. Using a genetically modified mouse that lacks microglia ( Csf1r ∆FIRE/∆FIRE ), we find that intrinsic properties, synapse number and synaptic maturation are largely normal in the hippocampal CA1 region and somatosensory cortex at stages where microglia have been implicated. Seizure susceptibility and hippocampal-prefrontal cortex coherence in awake behaving animals, processes that are disrupted in mice deficient in…

• HU
  Heriot-Watt University
• AS
  Alzheimer's Society
• SI
  Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain
• UD
  UK Dementia Research Institute
• MR
  Medical Research Council