Fig. 1: Hexb expression in the mouse brain is highly microglia-enriched throughout CNS conditions, brain regions and development.
From: Microglia–neuron crosstalk through Hex–GM2–MGL2 maintains brain homeostasis
a, Uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) of individual microglia from different conditions. 5xFAD and APP23 mice were used as models for Alzheimer’s disease, SOD1 mice for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, R6/2 mice for Huntington’s disease and cuprizone-treated mice (Cup) to model demyelination. Each dot represents a single cell. Colours correspond to the condition investigated. Specific disease-associated microglia populations are detectable during demyelination and neurodegeneration. b, Violin plot depicting different microglial core genes and their expression during demyelination and neurodegeneration. c, Schematic overview of HexbtdT gene locus. A T2A–tdTomato cassette was inserted after exon 14 before the stop codon, allowing the expression of tdT and Hexb under the control of the endogenous Hexb gene locus. The self-cleaving peptide T2A ensures the separation of HEXB and tdT proteins. d, Representative immunofluorescence images of P56 HexbtdT/tdT mice showing high tdT positivity in P2RY12+ microglia (yellow) but not NeuN+ neurons (green) in the cortex. Triangles point to tdT+ microglia. e, Quantification of tdT+ CNS cells. Each symbol represents one individual mouse (n = 4), mean + s.e.m. is shown. At least 1,000 cells per individual were counted. mMϕ, leptomeningeal macrophage; pvMϕ, perivascular macrophage. f, Quantification of tdT+ microglia (IBA1+P2RY12+) in different brain regions at 56 days of age. Symbols represent individual mice (n = 4), mean + s.e.m. is shown. At least 1,000 cells per individual were counted. g, Quantification of tdT+ cortical microglia (IBA1+, green) at different ages (embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5), P1 and P56). Symbols represent individual mice (n = 4), mean + s.e.m. is shown. At least 1,000 cells per individual were counted. Scale bars, 25 μm. Illustration in c was created using BioRender. Frosch, M. (2025) https://BioRender.com/v74v524.
