title: Signaling Pathways Controlling Microglia Chemotaxis.
abstract: Microglia are the primary resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). They are the first line of defense of the brain's innate immune response against infection, injury, and diseases. Microglia respond to extracellular signals and engulf unwanted neuronal debris by phagocytosis, thereby maintaining normal cellular homeostasis in the CNS. Pathological stimuli such as neuronal injury induce transformation and activation of resting microglia with ramified morphology into a motile amoeboid form and activated microglia chemotax toward lesion site. This review outlines the current research on microglial activation and chemotaxis.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lirui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chang Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000293:injuries*; D002633:Chemotaxis; D006801:Humans; D017628:Microglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction
keywords: P2Y12 receptor; activation; cell migration; chemotaxis; microglia