p27(Kip1)in microglia motility during brain development

Abstract

Content Brain development relies on the coordination of complex biological events whose impairment can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. Microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain and during embryogenesis, they invade the brain and contribute to its development by controlling neuronal migration and axonal wiring as well as synapse formation and elimination. The molecular mechanisms that control cytoskeleton remodeling during microglial motility remain largely unknown. Our preliminary data show that microglia express a cytoplasmic pool of p27 Kip1 , a cell cycle regulator that also has a function beyond cell cycle regulation to promote neuron migration in the cortex. In order to study the possible role of p27 Kip1 in microglia motility, we are currently analyzing p27 Kip1 knockout and a p27 Kip1 knockin mouse mutant (p27 Kip1 CK-) that no longer binds to cyclins and CDKs in order to characterize the migration and phagocytic activity (also relying on cytoskeleton movement) of microglia.