Sex difference in the microglia depletion drug action
Microglia require Colony-stimulating-factor-1 receptor (CSF1R) signaling for their development and maintenance. CSF1R inhibitors have been used extensively to deplete microglia in the healthy and diseased brain
The researchers examined the sex-dependent effects of a drug that removes microglia, called PLX3397.
They revealed that male microglia are more susceptible to being depleted by PLX3397 than female microglia and that this difference likely arises from distinct survival strategies employed by male and female microglia.
The authors demonstrate that female microglia upregulating autophagy and proteostasis pathways while male microglia increased mitobiogenesis.
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247%2824%2901527-4
