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Alzheimer's Risk Gene TREM2 Determines Functional Properties of New Type of Human iPSC-Derived Microglia
Reich M, Paris I, Ebeling M, Dahm N, Schweitzer C, Reinhardt D, Schmucki R, Prasad M et al.. Frontiers in immunology, 2021-02-03
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Microglia are key in the homeostatic well-being of the brain and microglial dysfunction has been implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Due to the many limitations to study microglia in situ or isolated for large scale drug discovery applications, there is a high need to develop robust and scalable human cellular models of microglia with reliable translatability to the disease. Here, we describe the generation of microglia-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) with distinct phenotypes for mechanistic studies in AD.
Key findings
- Due to the many limitations to study microglia in situ or isolated for large scale drug discovery applications, there is a high need to develop robust and scalable human cellular models of microglia with reliable translatability to the disease.
- Here, we describe the generation of microglia-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) with distinct phenotypes for mechanistic studies in AD.
- We started out from an established differentiation protocol to generate primitive macrophage precursors mimicking the yolk sac ontogeny of microglia.
- Subsequently, we tested 36 differentiation conditions for the cells in monoculture where we exposed them to various combinations of media, morphogens, and extracellular matrices.
Why it matters
This study describes the generation of microglia-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells with distinct phenotypes for mechanistic studies in Alzheimer's disease. It is a cell model development study and reports no treatment or clinical outcome.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in immunology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Frontiers in Immunology: journal h-index 352 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “ipsc”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 54 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.8 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 26 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Markus Britschgi: h-index 42 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Oxford: institution h-index 2,205 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33613545) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.617860
- PubMed: 33613545
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Immunology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Reich, M., Paris, I., Ebeling, M., Dahm, N., Schweitzer, C., Reinhardt, D., et al. (2020). Alzheimer's Risk Gene TREM2 Determines Functional Properties of New Type of Human iPSC-Derived Microglia. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.617860
Vancouver
Reich M, Paris I, Ebeling M, Dahm N, Schweitzer C, Reinhardt D, et al. Alzheimer's Risk Gene TREM2 Determines Functional Properties of New Type of Human iPSC-Derived Microglia. Frontiers in immunology. 2020. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.617860. PMID: 33613545.
BibTeX
@article{reich2020-33613545,
author = {Reich, M. and Paris, I. and Ebeling, M. and Dahm, N. and Schweitzer, C. and Reinhardt, D. and Schmucki, R. and Prasad, M. and others},
title = {{Alzheimer's Risk Gene TREM2 Determines Functional Properties of New Type of Human iPSC-Derived Microglia}},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2020.617860},
pmid = {33613545},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.617860}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 26.