Microglia are resident immune cells that play multiple roles in central nervous system (CNS) development and disease. Although the classical concept of microglia/macrophage activation is based on a biphasic beneficial-versus-deleterious polarization, growing evidence now suggests a much more heterogenous profile of microglial activation that underlie their complex roles in the CNS. To date, the majority of data are focused on microglia in gray matter. However, demyelination is a prominent pathologic finding in a wide range of diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. In this mini-review, we discuss newly discovered functional subsets of microglia that contribute to white matter response in CNS disease onset and progression. Microglia show different molecular patterns and morphologies depending on disease type and brain region, especially in white matter. Moreover, in later stages of disease, microglia demonstrate unconventional immuno-regulatory activities such as increased phagocytosis of myelin debris and secretion of trophic factors that stimulate oligodendrocyte lineage cells to facilitate remyelination and disease resolution. Further investigations of these multiple microglia subsets may lead to novel therapeutic approaches to treat white matter pathology in CNS injury and disease.

中文翻译：

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小胶质细胞的异质性及其在白质病理中的不同作用。

小胶质细胞是常驻免疫细胞，在中枢神经系统（CNS）的发育和疾病中起多种作用。尽管小胶质细胞/巨噬细胞激活的经典概念是基于双相有益-有害的两极分化，但越来越多的证据表明，小胶质细胞激活的异质性要高得多，这是它们在中枢神经系统中的复杂作用的基础。迄今为止，大多数数据都集中在灰质的小胶质细胞上。然而，脱髓鞘是在包括多发性硬化症，阿尔茨海默氏病以及血管性认知障碍和痴呆症在内的多种疾病中的重要病理发现。在这个小型回顾中，我们讨论了新发现的小胶质细胞功能子集，这些子集在中枢神经系统疾病发作和进展中对白质反应做出了贡献。小胶质细胞显示出不同的分子模式和形态，具体取决于疾病类型和大脑区域，尤其是在白质中。此外，在疾病的后期，小胶质细胞表现出非常规的免疫调节活性，例如增加髓磷脂碎片的吞噬作用和刺激少突胶质细胞谱系细胞以促进髓鞘再生和疾病解决的营养因子的分泌。对这些多个小胶质细胞亚类的进一步研究可能会导致新的治疗方法，以治疗中枢神经系统损伤和疾病中的白质病理。小胶质细胞显示出非常规的免疫调节活性，例如增加髓磷脂碎片的吞噬作用和刺激少突胶质细胞谱系细胞以促进髓鞘再生和疾病解决的营养因子的分泌。对这些多个小胶质细胞亚类的进一步研究可能会导致新的治疗方法，以治疗中枢神经系统损伤和疾病中的白质病理。小胶质细胞显示出非常规的免疫调节活性，例如增加髓磷脂碎片的吞噬作用和刺激少突胶质细胞谱系细胞以促进髓鞘再生和疾病解决的营养因子的分泌。对这些多个小胶质细胞亚类的进一步研究可能会导致新的治疗方法，以治疗中枢神经系统损伤和疾病中的白质病理。