Activated microglia do not form functional gap junctions in vivo

We investigated whether microglia form gap junctions with themselves, or with astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, or neurons in vivo in normal mouse brains, and in pathological conditions that induce microglial activation - brain injury and a model of Alzheimer's disease. Although microglia are in close physical proximity to glia and neurons, they do not form functional gap junctions under these pathological conditions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.