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Plasticity of human microglia and brain perivascular macrophages in aging and Alzheimer’s disease

delete2026-08-11
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PRE
AI
D
Donghoon Lee *
J
James M. Vicari
C
Christian Porras
C
Collin Spencer
M
Milos Pjanic
X
Xinyi Wang
S
Seon Kinrot
P
Philipp Weiler
R
Roman Kosoy
J
Jaroslav Bendl
N
N. M. Prashant
K
Konstantina Psychogyiou
P
Periklis Malakates
E
Evelyn Hennigan
J
Jennifer Monteiro Fortes
S
Shiwei Zheng
K
Karen Therrien
D
Deepika Mathur
S
Steven P. Kleopoulos
Z
Zhiping Shao
S
Stathis Argyriou
M
Marcela Alvia
C
Clara Casey
A
Aram Hong
K
Kristin G. Beaumont
R
Robert Sebra
C
Christopher P. Kellner
D
David A. Bennett
G
Guo‐Cheng Yuan
G
Georgios Voloudakis
F
Fabian J. Theis
V
Vahram Haroutunian
G
Gabriel E. Hoffman
J
John F. Fullard
P
Panos Roussos *
DOI:10.1038/s41588-026-02716-6delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Myeloid cells, including microglia and perivascular macrophages, are central to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neurobiology, yet their role remains incompletely understood. We profiled 832,505 human myeloid cells from the prefrontal cortex of 1,607 donors spanning the lifespan and showing varying degrees of AD neuropathology. We delineated six subclasses comprising 13 transcriptionally distinct subtypes and identified adaptive changes associated with aging and AD progression. Here we show that a disease-associated microglial subtype, characterized by elevated GPNMB expression and enriched for polygenic AD risk, expands with AD pathology and shows increased phagocytic activity. We identify MITF as an upstream regulator required to maintain this microglial state. Cell–cell interaction analyses prioritize APOE–SORL1 and APOE–TREM2 signaling pairs associated with disease progression. Using human and mouse models, we demonstrate that the neuroprotective effects of this microglial subtype depend on TREM2. These findings provide mechanistic insights into myeloid cell function in aging and AD, aiding therapeutic discovery. Molecular profiling of myeloid cells from the prefrontal cortex of 1,607 donors with varying degrees of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology delineates distinct myeloid subtypes and identifies changes associated with aging and disease progression.

Journal

Nature Genetics cover
Nature Genetics
IF:
29
Papers:
689
Citations:
241

Organization

H
Helmholtz Center Munich
Scholars:
210
Papers: 54
Citations: 0
R
rush university medical center
Scholars:
954
Papers: 434
Citations: 0
I
icahn school of medicine at mount sinai
Scholars:
3.2K
Papers: 1.1K
Citations: 0
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