# Dynamics of and Function Cerebellar Microglia

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2022 · $46,752

## Abstract

Abstract: Synaptic plasticity allows the central nervous system (CNS) to incorporate new sensory experiences
and information, and its disruption is associated with many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Much recent
work has focused on the contribution of non-neuronal CNS cells, especially microglia, the innate immune cells
of the CNS, to synaptic plasticity. Though classically thought of in their immune capacities, microglia are vital to
many homeostatic and developmental processes, including synaptic plasticity of nascent and adult neuronal
networks. Despite the emerging consensus that microglial dynamics are critical to brain function during
physiological as well as pathological conditions, it is unclear whether these microglial roles and their underlying
mechanisms are universal or differ between brain regions. There is a growing body evidence to suggest microglia
exhibit a high degree of regional specialization; existing on a continuum from homeostatic (cortex, striatum) to
immune vigilant (cerebellum) even in the absence of pathological stimuli. Indeed, microglia in the cerebellum
represent a distinct population, exhibiting unique transcriptional and epigenetic profiles, along with distinct
functional properties, such as being more phagocytic, morphologically less ramified and less densely distributed.
As a consequence, cerebellar microglia survey less of the brain parenchyma than cortical microglia, but
compensate for this by undergoing frequent somatic translocations under homeostatic conditions, a
phenomenon not observed in cortex. Despite these differences, cerebellar microglia maintain common microglial
functions, exhibiting a robust injury response and dynamic interactions with surrounding neural elements.
Understanding the common and unique roles of cerebellar microglia, along with the mechanisms that mediate
such roles, will be critical to understanding both cerebellar function and plasticity, as well as the heterogeneity
of microglia throughout the brain. In this proposal, I will address the hypothesis that cerebellar microglia use a
subset of the conserved mechanisms that modulate microglial dynamics to directly interact with the cerebellar
microcircuit to modulate cerebellar neuronal plasticity.
 To test this hypothesis I have developed the following specific aims: In Aim 1 I will investigate how two
important mechanisms that are known to be key to microglial mediated neural plasticity in the cortex shape the
dynamics and injury response of cerebellar microglia. In Aim 2 I will investigate the importance of one of these
mechanisms, b2 adrenergic receptor signaling, with known roles in cerebellar plasticity, to microglial modulation
of cerebellar circuits and behavior. The results obtained from these complementary but independent aims will
further our understanding of cerebellar microglia, illuminating both the signaling pathways that govern their
dynamics and their contribution to cerebellar neuronal plasticity. From there, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10472705
- **Project number:** 5F31NS120609-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Blohm Stoessel
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,752
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2023-08-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10472705

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10472705, Dynamics of and Function Cerebellar Microglia (5F31NS120609-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10472705. Licensed CC0.

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