REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1577809
This article is part of the Research TopicMicroglia and the Neuronal Cytoskeleton: Druggable Targets in NeurodegenerationView all articles
Microglial Dynamics and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies in CNS Homeostasis and Pathology
Provisionally accepted
- First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
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Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), are highly dynamic and play critical roles in maintaining CNS homeostasis. Under normal conditions, microglia continuously monitor their environment, clear cellular debris, and regulate homeostasis. In response to disease or injury, however, they undergo rapid morphological and functional changes, often adopting an amoeboid shape that facilitates phagocytosis of abnormal cells, pathogens, and external antigens. Microglia also proliferate in areas of injury or pathology, contributing to immune responses and tissue remodeling. Recently, pharmacological approaches targeting microglial depletion and repopulation have gained attention as a means to reset or modulate microglial function. Techniques such as CSF1R inhibition enable transient depletion of microglia, followed by rapid repopulation, potentially restoring homeostatic functions and mitigating chronic inflammation. This review explores the current understanding of microglial dynamics and highlights emerging therapeutic applications of microglial depletion and repopulation within the CNS.
Keywords: Microglial dynamics, therapeutic strategies, CNS homeostasis, Pathology, Microglia, Csf1, CSF1R (Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor), microglia depletion
Received: 16 Feb 2025; Accepted: 24 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cao, Yuan, Liu, Huang and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jie Cao, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
Mingwei Guo, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.