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Protective or Pathogenic? Microglial Responses at the Intersection of Amyloid-β, Tau, and Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease
Juardar PP, George K, Roy RK.. Preprints.org, 2026-10-20
Topic: Inflammation, microglia and astrocytes
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation, pathological tau aggregation, and neuronal loss. Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized as a contributor to disease progression, with microglia playing a central and context-dependent role. This mini-review examines the reciprocal interactions between microglia and neuroinflammation in AD, focusing on Aβ handling, inflammatory signaling, and tau pathology. We discuss how microglia may support pathological protein clearance while also promoting inflammatory responses through pathways involving NF-κB, the NLRP3 inflammasome, and oxidative stress–TRPM2 signaling. We further explore how microglial processing of tau may either limit its accumulation or facilitate its propagation. These findings highlight the dual role of microglia in AD, functioning as both protective responders and potential drivers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.
Key findings
- These findings highlight the dual role of microglia in AD, functioning as both protective responders and potential drivers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (Preprints.org) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| 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 | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Juardar, P. P., George, K., & Roy, R. K. (2026). Protective or Pathogenic? Microglial Responses at the Intersection of Amyloid-β, Tau, and Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease. Preprints.org. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202610.1771.v1
Vancouver
Juardar PP, George K, Roy RK. Protective or Pathogenic? Microglial Responses at the Intersection of Amyloid-β, Tau, and Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease. Preprints.org. 2026. doi:10.20944/preprints202610.1771.v1.
BibTeX
@article{juardar2026-b4b52380,
author = {Juardar, P. P. and George, K. and Roy, R. K.},
title = {{Protective or Pathogenic? Microglial Responses at the Intersection of Amyloid-β, Tau, and Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease}},
journal = {Preprints.org},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.20944/preprints202610.1771.v1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202610.1771.v1}
}