Fig. 1
From: Metabolic regulation of microglial phagocytosis: Implications for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics
Two faces of microglial functions in AD. Microglia can be protective in AD when they efficiently recognise, engulf and degrade Aβ, maintain their homestatic surveillance functions and secrete anti-inflammatory factors. However, microglia can also contribute to progression of AD pathology and neurodegeneration when they exhibit impaired phagocytosis of Aβ, excessively phagocytize synapses and processes of live neurons and release inflammatory cytokines