Neuronal-immune interactions are known to play crucial roles in brain development and homoeostasis. Of great relevance in this context are microglia, brain macrophages that phagocytose neurons that die during development, and many neurological disorders. Single-cell RNA sequencing methods have significantly advanced our understanding of microglial heterogeneity and transcriptional response to environmental changes. Here, we review recent work showing how microglia adopt a similar molecular signature during development and disease characterised by the expression of genes linked to phagocytosis and lipid uptake and metabolism. These studies show that in many neurodegenerative conditions, microglia accumulate cholesterols and lipid-rich debris, pointing to lipid processing and transport as promising targets for developing new therapeutical treatments against neurodegenerative disorders.

众所周知，神经元-免疫相互作用在大脑发育和稳态中起着至关重要的作用。与此相关的是小胶质细胞、吞噬发育过程中死亡的神经元的脑巨噬细胞，以及许多神经系统疾病。单细胞 RNA 测序方法显着提高了我们对小胶质细胞异质性和对环境变化的转录反应的理解。在这里，我们回顾了最近的工作，展示了小胶质细胞如何在发育和疾病过程中采用类似的分子特征，其特征是与吞噬作用和脂质摄取和代谢相关的基因表达。这些研究表明，在许多神经退行性疾病中，小胶质细胞会积累胆固醇和富含脂质的碎片，