Microglia mediate the early-life programming of adult glucose control
Microglia prune synapses throughout the brain in early life but their role in glucose metabolism and refining hypothalamic glucoregulatory circuits remains unclear.
The researchers show that microglia shape the hypothalamic perineuronal network during early postnatal life, ensuring that hypothalamic neurons projecting to the pancreatic b cell compartment during this time are maintained into adulthood.
Depleting microglia in this critical period leaves mice incapable of secreting sufficient insulin when glucose challenged as adults.
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)00180-9
