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. 2019 Apr 16;10:790. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00790

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Copyright © 2019 Galloway, Phillips, Owen and Moore.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Microglial Phagocytosis in the CNS. During development, microglial phagocytosis is essential for the refinement of excessive synapses, as well as the removal of apoptotic neurons and oligodendrocytes that are overproduced during development. Homeostatic microglia in the adult brain constantly survey the brain's parenchyma, contributing to synaptic plasticity and phagocytosing apoptotic progenitor cells. With advanced age, microglia undergo senescence, display impaired debris clearance, and excessively prune synapses. In diseases, such as Alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis, microglia act as key contributors to pathology, which is partially mediated by phagocytosis of substrates, such as amyloid-β or myelin debris (made in ©BioRender - biorender.com).