The pleiotropic cytokine transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGFβ1) plays pivotal roles in different cell types, including immune cells such as T cells, monocytes/macrophages, and microglia. Microglia are essential during physiological and pathological events. Maturation of postnatal microglia, as well as the regulation of the complex functional repertoire of microglia, needs to be carefully orchestrated. However, an understanding of how mammalian microglia maturation and disease-associated microglia activation is regulated remains fragmentary. Here, we summarize recent observations made by employing transgenic approaches to silence microglial TGFβ signaling in mice. These revealed that TGFβ1 and TGFβ signaling are indispensable for microglia maturation, adult microglia homeostasis, and the control of microglia activation in central nervous system pathologies.

多效细胞因子转化生长因子-β1（TGFβ1）在不同细胞类型中起关键作用，包括免疫细胞，例如T细胞，单核细胞/巨噬细胞和小胶质细胞。小胶质细胞在生理和病理事件中至关重要。产后小胶质细胞的成熟以及对小胶质细胞的复杂功能库的调节需要精心策划。但是，关于如何调节哺乳动物小胶质细胞成熟和疾病相关的小胶质细胞活化的理解仍然是零碎的。在这里，我们总结了通过采用转基因方法沉默小鼠中小胶质TGFβ信号转导的最新观察。这些表明TGFβ1和TGFβ信号对于小胶质细胞成熟，成人小胶质细胞稳态是必不可少的，