This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

47/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 47 out of 100. TREM2 and immune genetics

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Microglia affect Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis in opposing manners, by protecting against amyloid accumulation in early phases of the disease and promoting neuropathology in advanced stages. Recent research has identified specific microglial interactions with amyloid plaques that exert important protective functions including attenuation of early pathology. It is unknown how these protective microglial interactions with plaques are affected by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and sex, two well-established AD risk factors that modulate microglial function.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Stephen, T. L., Cacciottolo, M., Balu, D., Morgan, T. E., LaDu, M. J., Finch, C. E., et al. (2019). APOE genotype and sex affect microglial interactions with plaques in Alzheimer's disease mice. Acta neuropathologica communications. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-019-0729-z

Vancouver

Stephen TL, Cacciottolo M, Balu D, Morgan TE, LaDu MJ, Finch CE, et al. APOE genotype and sex affect microglial interactions with plaques in Alzheimer's disease mice. Acta neuropathologica communications. 2019. doi:10.1186/s40478-019-0729-z. PMID: 31113487.

BibTeX

@article{stephen2019-31113487,
  author  = {Stephen, T. L. and Cacciottolo, M. and Balu, D. and Morgan, T. E. and LaDu, M. J. and Finch, C. E. and Pike, C. J.},
  title   = {{APOE genotype and sex affect microglial interactions with plaques in Alzheimer's disease mice}},
  journal = {Acta neuropathologica communications},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.1186/s40478-019-0729-z},
  pmid    = {31113487},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-019-0729-z}
}

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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Recent research has identified specific microglial interactions with amyloid plaques that exert important protective functions including attenuation of early pathology.
It is unknown how these protective microglial interactions with plaques are affected by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and sex, two well-established AD risk factors that modulate microglial function.
We investigated this question using quantitative confocal microscopy to compare microglial interactions with amyloid plaques in male and female EFAD mice across APOE3 and APOE4 genotypes at 6 months of age.
We observed that microglial coverage of plaques is highest in male APOE3 mice with significant reductions in coverage observed with both APOE4 genotype and female sex.

Why it matters

This mouse study used microscopy to compare microglial interactions with amyloid plaques across APOE genotypes and sexes. It is animal work and does not report any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 47/100

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 (Acta neuropathologica communications)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	Acta Neuropathologica Communications: journal h-index 129 (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	2019 — 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 “mice”) — scores zero
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 116 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	12.9 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 4.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 7 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 52 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Christian J. Pike: h-index 67 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of Southern California: institution h-index 1,521 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31113487)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	47 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 28.

Later studies that cite this one

7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

Related studies in TREM2 and immune genetics

Also tagged “precursor”

1,339 studies in the library carry the topic tag “precursor”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,339 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on TREM2 and immune genetics

See all studies in TREM2 and immune genetics →