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Humanized TREM2 mice reveal microglia-intrinsic and -extrinsic effects of R47H polymorphism
Song WM, Joshita S, Zhou Y, Ulland TK, Gilfillan S, Colonna M.. The Journal of experimental medicine, 2018-01-10
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes late-onset dementia. The R47H variant of the microglial receptor TREM2 triples AD risk in genome-wide association studies. In mouse AD models, TREM2-deficient microglia fail to proliferate and cluster around the amyloid-β plaques characteristic of AD.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Song, W. M., Joshita, S., Zhou, Y., Ulland, T. K., Gilfillan, S., & Colonna, M. (2018). Humanized TREM2 mice reveal microglia-intrinsic and -extrinsic effects of R47H polymorphism. The Journal of experimental medicine. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20171529
Vancouver
Song WM, Joshita S, Zhou Y, Ulland TK, Gilfillan S, Colonna M. Humanized TREM2 mice reveal microglia-intrinsic and -extrinsic effects of R47H polymorphism. The Journal of experimental medicine. 2018. doi:10.1084/jem.20171529. PMID: 29321225.
BibTeX
@article{song2018-29321225,
author = {Song, W. M. and Joshita, S. and Zhou, Y. and Ulland, T. K. and Gilfillan, S. and Colonna, M.},
title = {{Humanized TREM2 mice reveal microglia-intrinsic and -extrinsic effects of R47H polymorphism}},
journal = {The Journal of experimental medicine},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1084/jem.20171529},
pmid = {29321225},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20171529}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The R47H variant of the microglial receptor TREM2 triples AD risk in genome-wide association studies.
- In mouse AD models, TREM2-deficient microglia fail to proliferate and cluster around the amyloid-β plaques characteristic of AD.
- In vitro, the common variant (CV) of TREM2 binds anionic lipids, whereas R47H mutation impairs binding.
- However, in vivo, the identity of TREM2 ligands and effect of the R47H variant remain unknown.
Why it matters
This mouse study used humanized TREM2 mice to look at the R47H variant, which the record says "triples AD risk in genome-wide association studies". Earlier lab work had shown that R47H impairs TREM2's binding to anionic lipids, but its effect in living animals was unknown. The title reports "microglia-intrinsic and -extrinsic effects of R47H", but alzhub's record does not include the results, so read the original paper for what those effects are. This is animal research and does not test any treatment in people.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of experimental medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | The Journal of Experimental Medicine: journal h-index 652 (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 | 2018 — 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 |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 305 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 30.5 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 80 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 93 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Marco Colonna: h-index 172 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29321225) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1084/jem.20171529
- PubMed: 29321225
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Journal of Experimental Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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