Topic: brain homeostasis

Microglia are the brain macrophages, eliciting multifaceted functions to maintain brain homeostasis across lifetime. To achieve this, microglia are able to sense a plethora of signals in their close environment. In the lab, we investigate the effect of nutrients on microglia function for several reasons: 1) Microglia express all the cellular machinery required to sense nutrients; 2) Eating habits have changed considerably over the last century, towards diets rich in fats and sugars; 3) This so-called "Western diet" is accompanied by an increase in the occurrence of neuropathologies, in which m