Mutations of
CD33 and
TREM2 genes expressed in microglia have been linked to increased risks of AD [
26,
27,
37]. Altered Aβ load has been observed in
CX
3
CR1
−/−
[
29,
30],
TREM2
−/− and
CD33
−/− mice [
27]. In vitro studies have shown that microglia phagocytose Aβ [
33‐
35]. Furthermore, in vivo studies have shown that Aβ is localized within microglial lysosomes and microglia volume surrounding plaques correlates with the reduction of plaque size over one month [
25]. Together, these studies strongly suggest a role of microglia in Aβ clearance and/or regulating d Aβ deposition. However, previous studies of depleting microglia by introducing suicide gene
HSVTK or inhibiting CSFR1 have shown that microglia depletion has no effect on both formation and maintenance of plaques [
38,
39]. In the present study, using Cre-dependent microglia depletion and time-lapse imaging, we have now provided direct evidence that in the AD mouse model older than 12 months, microglia depletion over 1 week does not affect the formation or maintenance of amyloid plaques, but leads to a ~13% enlargement of plaque size in the cortex (Fig.
3d, e). Furthermore, 2 weeks after DT administration, microglia repopulation was associated with the stabilization of plaque size (Fig.
3d, f). Our findings strongly suggest the role of microglia in restricting the expansion of plaques.
It is important to point out several differences between previous studies and our work on the effect of microglia depletion. One difference is that previous studies examined the number and size of amyloid plaques using fixed brain tissues from different animals with or without microglia depletion [
38,
39]. The variability in plaque number and size between different animals may make it difficult to detect relatively small changes in plaque size after microglia depletion. Taking advantage of time-lapse imaging, we have been able to track the same plaques over time and reveal the relative small changes (~13% over one week) of plaque size in response to microglia depletion. It is also important to note that microglia depletion in previous studies may take longer to occur than in our studies. The prolonged process of microglia depletion might cause compensatory responses such as astrocyte activation, which could lead to degradation of Aβ [
45,
46]. Further studies are needed to address these possibilities in order to better understand the role of microglia in amyloid plaque deposition.
In addition to microglia in the brain, peripheral myeloid cells also express CX
3CR1 and therefore could be depleted by DT administration in
APP/PS1/CX
3
CR1-iDTR mice. However, microglia and peripheral CX
3CR1
+ cells have substantially different turnover rates and are derived from different precursor populations [
40,
47‐
50]. Microglia are long-lived population [
47] and it has been shown that when tamoxifen is administrated ~30 days prior to the administration of DT,
CX
3
CR1-iDTR mice have a dramatic reduction of microglia within 1 day after DT administration [
40]. On the other hand, CX
3CR1
+ cells in the spleen or blood are not affected as these peripheral CX
3CR1
+ myeloid cells in
CX
3
CR1-iDTR mice are replenished through a CX
3CR1
− bone marrow precursor [
47‐
50] and no longer express DT receptors 30 days after tamoxifen administration [40]. In our experiment, the time period between tamoxifen and DT administration was 7 days. Based on the rapid turnover of peripheral CX
3CR1
+ cells (Fig.
2 in ref. [
40]), we expect that over this 7 day period the majority of peripheral CX
3CR1
+ cells would be replenished through a CX
3CR1
− bone marrow precursor and do not express DT receptors. A small fraction of peripheral myeloid cells would still express DT receptors and would be depleted following DT administration. Therefore, we could not completely rule out the possibility that in addition to microglia depletion, the depletion of some peripheral CX
3CR1
+ myeloid cells may also affect the growth of amyloid plaques. Future studies to specifically deplete peripheral CX
3CR1
+ myeloid cells using bone marrow transplantation are needed to determine the potential contribution of peripheral CX
3CR1
+ cell population in amyloid plaque formation.