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Distinct amyloid-β and tau-associated microglia profiles in Alzheimer's disease
Gerrits E, Brouwer N, Kooistra SM, Woodbury ME, Vermeiren Y, Lambourne M, Mulder J, Kummer M et al.. Acta neuropathologica, 2021-02-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia and is characterized by abnormal extracellular aggregates of amyloid-β and intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated tau tangles and neuropil threads. Microglia, the tissue-resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), are important for CNS homeostasis and implicated in AD pathology. In amyloid mouse models, a phagocytic/activated microglia phenotype has been identified.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Gerrits, E., Brouwer, N., Kooistra, S. M., Woodbury, M. E., Vermeiren, Y., Lambourne, M., et al. (2021). Distinct amyloid-β and tau-associated microglia profiles in Alzheimer's disease. Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-021-02263-w
Vancouver
Gerrits E, Brouwer N, Kooistra SM, Woodbury ME, Vermeiren Y, Lambourne M, et al. Distinct amyloid-β and tau-associated microglia profiles in Alzheimer's disease. Acta neuropathologica. 2021. doi:10.1007/s00401-021-02263-w. PMID: 33609158.
BibTeX
@article{gerrits2021-33609158,
author = {Gerrits, E. and Brouwer, N. and Kooistra, S. M. and Woodbury, M. E. and Vermeiren, Y. and Lambourne, M. and Mulder, J. and Kummer, M. and others},
title = {{Distinct amyloid-β and tau-associated microglia profiles in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1007/s00401-021-02263-w},
pmid = {33609158},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-021-02263-w}
}
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.
Key findings
- Microglia, the tissue-resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), are important for CNS homeostasis and implicated in AD pathology.
- In amyloid mouse models, a phagocytic/activated microglia phenotype has been identified.
- How increasing levels of amyloid-β and tau pathology affect human microglia transcriptional profiles is unknown.
- Here, we performed snRNAseq on 482,472 nuclei from non-demented control brains and AD brains containing only amyloid-β plaques or both amyloid-β plaques and tau pathology.
Why it matters
Brain immune cells called microglia are implicated in Alzheimer's, but how they respond as amyloid plaques and then tau tangles build up in the human brain had been unknown; a reactive form had been described mainly in mice. By reading gene activity in 482,472 individual cell nuclei from brains of people without dementia and from Alzheimer's brains with amyloid only or with amyloid plus tau, this study reports distinct microglia profiles associated with amyloid-β and with tau. It is an observational study of post-mortem tissue: it shows association, not cause, and tests no treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Acta Neuropathologica: journal h-index 287 (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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 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 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 438 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 62.6 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 25.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 14 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 268 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Erik Boddeke: h-index 43 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Karolinska Institutet: institution h-index 1,477 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 10 institution(s) in 6 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33609158) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02263-w
- PubMed: 33609158
- Original source →
- Free full text: Acta Neuropathologica →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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