Control of microglial function by activation of neurotransmitter/-hormone receptors (A04)

• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2008 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 29837756

The project aims to characterize neurotransmitter/-hormone receptors in microglial cells and determine their impact on microglial function in health and disease. Agnati and Fuxe proposed two forms of intercellular communication in the central nervous system, i.e. wiring transmission and volume transmission (Agnati et al., Neuroscience 1995). Volume transmission assumes that neurotransmitter/-hormones not only act at the postsynaptic site, but more broadly activate extrasynaptic receptors not only on neurons but also on glial cells including microglia. It is therefore planned to determine the role of neurotransmitter/-hormones for controlling microglial functions in the normal and pathologic brain and study its diversity depending on the type of brain region and pathology such as Alzheimer`s disease, stroke, brain tumor, and multiple sclerosis.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 43: The Brain as a Target of Inflammatory Processes
• Applicant Institution: shared FU Berlin and HU Berlin through:; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Co-Applicant Institution: Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Helmut Kettenmann; Privatdozentin Dr. Susanne A. Wolf