bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.03.03.531012

Jedi-1/MEGF12-mediated phagocytosis controls the pro-neurogenic properties of microglia in the ventricular-subventricular zone

Morrison, V. E.·Houpert, M. G.·Trapani, J. B.·Brockman, A.·Kingsley, P. J.·Katdare, K. A.·Layden, H. M.·Nguena-Jones, G. N.·Trevisan, A. J.·Maguire-Zeiss, K. A.·Marnett, L. J.·Bix, G.·Ihrie, R. A.·Carter, B. D.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Microglia are the primary phagocytes in the central nervous system and are responsible for clearing dead cells generated during development or disease. The phagocytic process shapes the phenotype of the microglia, which affects the local environment. A unique population of microglia reside in the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) of neonatal mice, but how they influence this neurogenic niche is not well-understood. Here, we demonstrate that phagocytosis creates a pro-neurogenic microglial phenotype in the V-SVZ and that these microglia phagocytose apoptotic cells via the engulfment receptor Jedi-1. Deletion of Jedi-1 decreases apoptotic cell clearance, triggering the development of a neuroinflammatory phenotype, reminiscent of neurodegenerative and-age-associated microglia, that reduces neural precursor proliferation via elevated interleukin (IL)-1{beta} signaling; inhibition of IL-1 receptor rescues precursor proliferation in vivo. Together, these results reveal a critical role for Jedi-1 in connecting microglial phagocytic activity to a phenotype that promotes neurogenesis in the developing V-SVZ. Graphical Abstract. Jedi-1-dependent phagocytosis supports neurogenesis via suppression of microglial inflammatory pathway activationTop: Wild-type Proliferative-zone-Associated Microglia (PAMs) (cyan) use the engulfment receptor Jedi-1 ( Jedi) to engulf apoptotic cells (yellow) in the neurogenic ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) of the early postnatal brain. Jedi activation supports neural precursor cell (NPC) proliferation and the generation of new neurons. Bottom: Deletion of Jedi reduces microglial phagocytosis and transforms PAMs into Disease-associated Inflammatory Microglia (DIMs) characterized by the upregulation of canonical inflammatory genes and core DIM markers iden ified in the aging and neurodegenerative brain (Nlrp3, NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3; Tnf, tumor necrosis factor; Ccl4, C-C chemokine ligand 4 (also called macrophage inflammatory protein 1{beta}); Ccr5, C-C chemokine receptor type 5). Increased interleukin-1{beta} (IL-1{beta}) synthesis, release, and signaling in the Jedi-null V-SVZ reduces NPC proliferation and newborn neuron number. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=119 SRC="FIGDIR/small/531012v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (34K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16b9785org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a8be50org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@66b726org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1825d8b_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LIThe engulfment receptor Jedi-1 is expressed by microglia in the neonatal ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) neurogenic niche. C_LIO_LIJedi-1 knockout microglia have decreased engulfment ability, resulting in accumulation of dead cells in the V-SVZ. C_LIO_LILoss of Jedi-1 leads to a neuroinflammatory phenotype in microglia that is characteristic of neurodegenerative and age-associated microglia. C_LIO_LIMicroglial-specific loss of Jedi-1 reduces neurogenesis, which is rescued in vivo by inhibition of interleukin-1{beta} signaling. C_LI

Source connections

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Morrison, V. E., Houpert, M. G., Trapani, J. B., Brockman, A., Kingsley, P. J., Katdare, K. A., Layden, H. M., Nguena-Jones, G. N., Trevisan, A. J., Maguire-Zeiss, K. A., Marnett, L. J., Bix, G., Ihrie, R. A., Carter, B. D.. 2023-03-07. Jedi-1/MEGF12-mediated phagocytosis controls the pro-neurogenic properties of microglia in the ventricular-subventricular zone. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.03.531012

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Attention Across Scales: From Individual Variation to Social Hierarchies and Brain Networks in Semi-Free-Ranging Macaques

Attention is a fundamental brain function supporting perception, decision-making, and social behavior, and its dysfunction profoundly impairs daily life. It is both dynamic and stable, varying across observations and individuals, changing across the lifespan, and being shaped by social and environmental experience. Yet capturing this complexity remains a central challenge in neuroscience. Here, we integrated longitudinal behavioral assessments of semi-free-ranging macaques living in naturalistic social groups with resting-state fMRI. We quantified performance across days, ages, and social hierarchies and related it to intrinsic brain organization. Distinct attentional phenotypes emerged, including individuals with reduced attentional control. Performance followed an inverted-U lifespan trajectory, improving from childhood to adulthood before declining. Social status modulated attentional performance. Critically, nonlinear lifespan trajectories and associations with individual attentional differences were most clearly expressed in frontoparietal connectivity. Together, these findings reveal how sustained attention is organized across scales, providing a biological framework for its individual diversity, social modulation, and neural basis.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Decoding natural scenes from patterned optogenetic responses in mouse visual cortex

A central challenge in developing visual cortical prostheses is to determine how visual stimuli should be transformed into effective patterns of cortical stimulation. Although advances in stimulation technologies, including optogenetics, provide increasingly precise control over cortical activity, it remains unclear whether artificially evoked activity can reproduce the information content of naturally evoked visual representations. Here we establish a quantitative framework for evaluating visual encoding strategies by decoding cortical responses evoked by natural vision and patterned optogenetic stimulation. We developed a novel dual-modal paradigm in awake mice to bridge the gap between endogenous photostimulation and artificial network driving. By co-expressing the high-performance calcium indicator GCaMP6s and the red-shifted, ultra-sensitive opsin rsChRmine-oScarlet in the primary visual cortex (V1), we successfully translated dynamic natural movie frames into patterned, spatiotemporal optogenetic stimulation. Quantitative comparisons of macro-scale dynamics demonstrated that this patterned optogenetic injection evokes cortical states highly comparable and representationally aligned with those driven by actual visual photostimulation. To systematically evaluate the fidelity of these responses, we developed STAR, a deep learning model featuring spatial and temporal attention mechanisms, and successfully reconstructed the frames of natural movies from V1 signals under both experimental modalities. Collectively, our results demonstrate that complex sensory information can be both naturally encoded and synthetically injected into V1 circuits with high decoding fidelity. This work provides an empirical and computational proof-of-concept for intelligent, closed-loop biomimetic encoders, establishing a robust framework for next-generation cortical visual neuroprostheses and bidirectional brain-machine interfaces.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Why Is Spontaneous Blink Timing Informative? An Adaptive Scheduling Perspective

Spontaneous eye blinks have long been linked to cognitive processing, yet how task demands shape blink timing and its relationship to behavioral performance remains unclear. We examined spontaneous blink behavior in 576 adults performing two variants of the Continuous Performance Task (CPT). Blink occurrence and timing were most strongly modulated by the experimental condition in the more demanding CPT-AX task, whereas their association with response time was stronger in the CPT-X task, where more consistent blink timing predicted faster responses. This dissociation suggests that task structure changes not only blink behavior but also the behavioral relevance of blink timing. These findings are consistent with an adaptive scheduling account of spontaneous blinking and provide a conceptual framework for understanding when and why blink timing contains chronometric information about ongoing cognition.

neuroscience↗