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TREM2, Microglia, and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Yeh FL, Hansen DV, Sheng M.. Trends in molecular medicine, 2017-04-22
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and the 6th leading cause of death in the US. The neuropathological hallmarks of the disease are extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates. Genetic variants of TREM2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2), a cell-surface receptor expressed selectively in myeloid cells, greatly increase the risk of AD, implicating microglia and the innate immune system as pivotal factors in AD pathogenesis.
Key findings
- The neuropathological hallmarks of the disease are extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates.
- Genetic variants of TREM2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2), a cell-surface receptor expressed selectively in myeloid cells, greatly increase the risk of AD, implicating microglia and the innate immune system as pivotal factors in AD pathogenesis.
- Recent studies have advanced our understanding of TREM2 biology and microglial activities in aging and neurodegenerative brains, providing new insights into TREM2 functions in amyloid plaque maintenance, microglial envelopment of plaque, microglia viability, and the identification of novel TREM2 ligands.
- Our increased understanding of TREM2 and microglia has opened new avenues for therapeutic intervention to delay or prevent the progression of AD.
Why it matters
This 2017 review summarises research showing that some versions of the TREM2 gene, which works in the brain's immune cells (microglia), 'greatly increase the risk' of Alzheimer's — which the authors take as a sign the immune system plays a central part in the disease. It covers lab findings on how microglia respond to amyloid plaques, but reports no new data and gives no size for the risk. The authors say this opens 'new avenues' for treatment research; the review itself reports no treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Trends in molecular medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Trends in Molecular Medicine: journal h-index 238 (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 | 2017 — 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 | 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 439 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 39.9 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 49 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 120 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Morgan Sheng: h-index 142 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Genentech: institution h-index 1,144 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28442216) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
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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
Yeh, F. L., Hansen, D. V., & Sheng, M. (2017). TREM2, Microglia, and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Trends in molecular medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2017.03.008
Vancouver
Yeh FL, Hansen DV, Sheng M. TREM2, Microglia, and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Trends in molecular medicine. 2017. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2017.03.008. PMID: 28442216.
BibTeX
@article{yeh2017-28442216,
author = {Yeh, F. L. and Hansen, D. V. and Sheng, M.},
title = {{TREM2, Microglia, and Neurodegenerative Diseases}},
journal = {Trends in molecular medicine},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1016/j.molmed.2017.03.008},
pmid = {28442216},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2017.03.008}
}
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