Formation and maintenance of Alzheimer's disease β-amyloid plaques in the absence of microglia

Abstract

Contrary to previous findings, this study finds that ablation of microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain, does not affect amyloid plaque or neuritic pathology in two mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. In Alzheimer's disease, microglia cluster around β-amyloid deposits, suggesting that these cells are important for amyloid plaque formation, maintenance and/or clearance. We crossed two distinct APP transgenic mouse strains with CD11b-HSVTK mice, in which nearly complete ablation of microglia was achieved for up to 4 weeks after ganciclovir application. Neither amyloid plaque formation and maintenance nor amyloid-associated neuritic dystrophy depended on the presence of microglia.