Collaboratively supported by 31 principal investigators, this priority project has pioneered 18 innovative projects that span 20 diverse research institutes across Germany, Israel, the UK and Finland.

Goal

Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) and they are involved both in the steady-state regulation of the CNS as well as in the first immune response to any perturbation occurring there. Heterogeneity of microglia has been addressed over the past 20 years and several concepts have been proposed. In the coming years, the field will advance beyond a simple concept of disease-associated microglia, or homeostatic microglia. In the past, microglia have often been studied isolated from their tissue context.

With this priority program we aim to put emphasis investigating microglia in vivo.
We aim to translate our preclinical findings into the clinical setting by using human post-mortem tissue, humanized mice, iPCs-derived human microglia and patient data.



The main questions that we address are:


Which intrinsic and extrinsic local cues determine microglia states?

How do microglia interact with other cells in the brain?

How do omics-profiles translate into microglial functions?

How relevant are mouse data for human diseases?

To answer these questions, we will assimilate and meta-analyse existing data, exploit common resources such as transgenic mouse models and develop novel tools to visualize and manipulate microglia. Our nationwide interdisciplinary priority program serves as a mutual platform to address these important questions and meet the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies

Events



Data Management

PREMIER guideline implementation to our work

The DFG programme SPP23 is a big consortium of scientific groups working on microglia function in health and disease. To increase the value and outcome of experimental results, data management of the consortium will be supported by a supervisor and the implementation of a quality assurance protocol (PREMIER) which was intended for scientific groups and collaborations according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008. This document gives an overview over the different PREMIER modules and statements of if and how these can be used in SPP2395.

For sharing and standardizing our protocols, we use a PREMIER QMS which is a password-protected Wiki platform for all members of SPP2395.




Logos of all participating Institutions