{"id":29727,"date":"2024-08-19T14:39:15","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T18:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=29727"},"modified":"2024-08-19T14:41:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T18:41:44","slug":"new-approach-enables-a-closer-look-at-brain-cell-organelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/new-approach-enables-a-closer-look-at-brain-cell-organelle\/","title":{"rendered":"New approach enables a closer look at brain cell organelle"},"content":{"rendered":"
Microglia are the immune system\u2019s front-line enforcers in the brain. They are cells that patrol the brain and destroy anything harmful that they encounter, from invading bacteria to cellular debris. They also remove plaques and prune dysfunctional synapses between neurons. Microglia eliminate their targets by eating them: they envelope material and seal it in bubble-like organelles called phagosomes. A phagosome can then fuse with other organelles that break down its contents.<\/p>\n
Microglial phagosomes play important roles in brain development, brain function and a plethora of brain diseases, including neurodegeneration and brain cancer. Therefore, understanding microglial phagosome biology could help to develop new therapies for currently untreatable brain diseases. However, microglia and their organelles have been difficult to study because existing stem cell and animal models insufficiently resemble microglia in the human brain, and because microglia, as vigilant immune patrollers, react to even subtle stimuli and so experimental conditions can trigger changes in the cells that confound analyses.<\/p>\n
To overcome those issues, Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, also a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Freiburg Professor of Neuropathology Marco Prinz; and University of Freiburg neuropathologist Emile Wogram, who began this project as a postdoctoral researcher in Jaenisch\u2019s lab, have developed a method to isolate and analyze microglia phagosomes in a rapid, gentle, and unbiased fashion.<\/p>\n