Whereas microglia involvement in virtually all brain diseases is well accepted their role in the control of homeostasis in the central nervous system (CNS) is mainly thought to be the maintenance of neuronal function through the formation, refinement, and monitoring of synapses in both the developing and adult brain. Although the prenatal origin as well as the neuron-centered function of cortical microglia has recently been elucidated, much less is known about a distinct amoeboid microglia population formerly described as the “fountain of microglia” that appears only postnatally in myelinated regions such as corpus callosum and cerebellum. Using large-scale transcriptional profiling, fate mapping, and genetic targeting approaches, we identified a unique molecular signature of this microglia subset that arose from a CNS endogenous microglia pool independent from circulating myeloid cells. Microglia depletion experiments revealed an essential role of postnatal microglia for the proper development and homeostasis of oligodendrocytes and their progenitors. Our data provide new cellular and molecular insights into the myelin-supporting function of microglia in the normal CNS.

尽管小胶质细胞几乎参与了所有脑部疾病，但人们普遍认为它们在中枢神经系统（CNS）稳态控制中的作用主要是通过在发育中的突触的形成，完善和监测来维持神经元功能。和成人的大脑。尽管最近已经阐明了皮层小胶质细胞的产前起源和以神经元为中心的功能，但人们对以前称为“小胶质细胞”的独特的变形虫小胶质细胞的了解却少得多，该种群仅在出生后才出现在有髓的区域，如体。和小脑。使用大规模的转录分析，命运定位和基因定位方法，我们确定了这种小胶质细胞亚群的独特分子标记，该分子标记来自中枢神经系统内源性小胶质细胞池，独立于循环髓样细胞。小胶质细胞耗竭实验揭示了产后小胶质细胞对于少突胶质细胞及其祖细胞的正常发育和稳态的重要作用。我们的数据为正常中枢神经系统中小胶质细胞的髓磷脂支持功能提供了新的细胞和分子见解。