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Immune cells chow down on living brain

Microglia eat neural stem cells in developing rat and monkey brains

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

Zombies aren’t the only things that feast on brains. Immune cells called microglia gorge on neural stem cells in developing rat and monkey brains, researchers report in the March 6 Journal of Neuroscience.

Over two hours, a rat embryonic microglial cell (green, marked with asterisk) engulfs a neighboring brain stem cell (red, marked with arrow).