Rod-Shaped Microglia Morphology Is Associated with Aging in 2 Human Autopsy Series

Authors

Adam D. Bachstetter, University of KentuckyFollow
Eseosa T. Ighodaro, University of KentuckyFollow
Yasmin Hassoun, University of Kentucky
Danah Aldeiri, University of Kentucky
Janna H. Neltner, University of KentuckyFollow
Ela Patel, University of KentuckyFollow
Erin L. Abner, University of KentuckyFollow
Peter T. Nelson, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

A subtype of microglia is defined by the morphological appearance of the cells as rod-shaped. Little is known about this intriguing cell type, as there are only a few case reports describing rod-shaped microglia in the neuropathological literature. Rod-shaped microglia were shown recently to account for a substantial proportion of the microglia cells in the hippocampus of both demented and cognitively intact aged individuals. We hypothesized that aging could be a defining feature in the occurrence of rod-shaped microglia. To test this hypothesis, two independent series of autopsy cases (total n=168 cases), which covered the adult lifespan from 20 – 100+ years old, were included in the study. The presence or absence of rod-shaped microglia was scored on IBA1 immunohistochemically stained slides for the hippocampus and cortex. We found that age was one of the strongest determinants for the presence of rod-shaped microglia in the hippocampus and the cortex. We found no association with the presence of rod-shaped microglia and a self-reported history of a TBI. Alzheimer’s disease related pathology was found to influence the presence of rod-shaped microglia, but only in the parietal cortex and not in the hippocampus or temporal cortex. Future studies are warranted to determine the functional relevance of rod-shaped microglia in supporting the health of neurons in the aged brain, and the signaling processes that regulate the formation of rod-shaped microglia.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2017

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Neurobiology of Aging, v. 52, p. 98-105.

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This manuscript version is made available under the CC‐BY‐NC‐ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

The document available for download is the author's post-peer-review final draft of the article.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.12.028

Funding Information

Research reported in this publication was supported by National Institutes of Health under award numbers P30 AG028383, R00 AG044445.

Repository Citation

Bachstetter, Adam D.; Ighodaro, Eseosa T.; Hassoun, Yasmin; Aldeiri, Danah; Neltner, Janna H.; Patel, Ela; Abner, Erin L.; and Nelson, Peter T., "Rod-Shaped Microglia Morphology Is Associated with Aging in 2 Human Autopsy Series" (2017). Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications. 28.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/scobirc_facpub/28