荷兰格罗宁根大学B. J. L. Eggen和S. M. Kooistra课题组取得最新进展。他们发现人类胎儿小胶质细胞在发育早期就具有体内平衡的免疫传感特性。2020年7月31日出版的《科学》杂志发表了这一成果。

研究人员生成了人类胎儿发育到9至18个孕周（GWs）的小胶质细胞单细胞基因表达和大量染色质图谱。在所有研究的GW中，小胶质细胞是异质的。小胶质细胞在此发育时期开始成熟，并越来越类似于具有中枢神经系统（CNS）监视特性的成年小胶质细胞。染色质可及性随着相关的转录网络发育过程而增加，这些转录网络映射成年小胶质细胞。

因此，在胎儿早期发育过程中，小胶质细胞向更成熟的、具有免疫感应能力的表型发展，这可能使发育中的人类中枢神经系统在妊娠早期易受环境干扰。

据悉，小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统的免疫细胞，对组织的发育和维持很重要，并且与CNS疾病有关，但是人们对人胎儿小胶质细胞的发育缺乏了解。

附：英文原文

Title: Human fetal microglia acquire homeostatic immune-sensing properties early in development

Author: L. Kracht, M. Borggrewe, S. Eskandar, N. Brouwer, S. M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes, J. D. Laman, S. A. Scherjon, J. R. Prins, S. M. Kooistra, B. J. L. Eggen

Issue&Volume: 2020/07/31

Abstract: Microglia, immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), are important for tissue development and maintenance and are implicated in CNS disease, but we lack understanding of human fetal microglia development. Single-cell gene expression and bulk chromatin profiles of microglia at 9 to 18 gestational weeks (GWs) of human fetal development were generated. Microglia were heterogeneous at all studied GWs. Microglia start to mature during this developmental period and increasingly resemble adult microglia with CNS-surveilling properties. Chromatin accessibility increases during development with associated transcriptional networks reflective of adult microglia. Thus, during early fetal development, microglia progress toward a more mature, immune-sensing competent phenotype, and this might render the developing human CNS vulnerable to environmental perturbations during early pregnancy.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aba5906

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6503/530