The Role of Microglia in the Spread of Tau: Relevance for Tauopathies

The article "The Role of Microglia in the Spread of Tau: Relevance for Tauopathies" by Juan R. Perea et al. provides significant insights into Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, particularly focusing on the role of microglia in the disease's progression. 

In highly industrialized areas there has been an increasing number of individuals suffering from gut microbiota dysbiosis (a decrease in the diversity of microorganism characteristics and an increase in pro-inflammatory species), which is associated with AD. An increase in pro-inflammatory species can shift microglia from a healthy state to a diseased state. Microglia are identified as crucial cells for maintaining the central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis. They are essential for clearing extracellular pathological Tau proteins that characterize AD. The article notes that the amount of phosphorylated Tau at late stages of AD correlates with the number of activated microglia. However, a reduction in the phagocytic action of these cells at such stages suggests an uncoupling of microglia activation and phagocytosis during the progression of AD. This disconnection is proposed as a mechanism driving neurodegeneration in AD.

These findings highlight the complex role of microglia in AD and underscore the necessity of further research to elucidate the mechanisms of Tau and Aβ clearance in the brain, which could open up new therapeutic avenues for treating AD and related tauopathies.

Reference:

Perea, J.R., Llorens-Martín, M., Ávila, J., Bolós, M., 2018. The Role of Microglia in the Spread of Tau: Relevance for Tauopathies. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2018.00172