Brain immune cells take up nuclear bodies in aging mice
Experiments in aged mice linked uptake of small bodies from nerve-cell nuclei to changes in the shape and gene activity of brain immune cells.
Limit: Cell shape and gene activity do not reveal whether uptake helps or harms aging brains
Stake: Advanced Technologies funded the study.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In experiments in aged mice, researchers observed small bodies called micronuclei forming from neurons, or nerve cells, and entering neighboring brain immune cells called microglia. They examined mice aged 19–25 months and used live brain imaging in 18-month-old mice.
The membrane surrounding neuronal nuclei became fragile with age. Micronuclei formed in association with inward folds in that membrane and were more common in aged neurons than in young neurons. Microglia containing micronuclei had longer, more numerous branches than those without them. They also differed in the activity of several candidate genes. The authors suggested that uptake alters microglial characteristics and functions. They proposed that this transfer represents a form of communication between neurons and microglia in the aging brain.
Why it matters
Nuclear material released by damaged neurons has been implicated in inflammatory responses by brain immune cells. This work addresses whether communication seen early in life also occurs in the aging brain.
Caveats
Changes in cell shape and gene activity do not by themselves establish whether this transfer helps or harms the aging brain. The findings came from mice, not people.
The paper
Age-associated neuronal micronuclei formation and transfer to microglia
University of Tsukuba
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Jun 19, 2026, Open access
