Uncovering sex differences of rodent microglia

There are inherent structural and functional differences in the central nervous systems (CNS) of females and males. It has been gradually established that these sex-specific differences are due to a spectrum of genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal factors which actively contribute to the differential incidences, disease courses, and even outcomes of CNS diseases between sexes. Microglia, as principle resident macrophages in the CNS, play a crucial role in both CNS physiology and pathology. However, sex differences of microglia have been relatively unexplored until recently. Emerging data has convincingly demonstrated the existence of sex-dependent structural and functional differences of rodent microglia, consequently changing our current understanding of these versatile cells. In this review, we attempt to comprehensively outline the current advances revealing microglial sex differences in rodent and their potential implications for specific CNS diseases with a stark sex difference. A detailed understanding of molecular processes underlying microglial sex differences is of major importance in design of translational sex- and microglia-specific therapeutic approaches.

Automated summary

There are inherent structural and functional differences in the central nervous systems of females and males, including sex-specific differences in genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal factors. Microglia, as principal resident macrophages in the CNS, have recently been found to exhibit sex-dependent structural and functional differences, which has implications for the design of sex- and microglia-specific therapeutic approaches for CNS diseases.