The 99th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Pharmacological Society

Chair:Takahiro Masuda(Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University)

The central nervous system (CNS), including the brain, orchestrates vital functions throughout the body. Among the key players supporting its remarkable complexity are brain-resident macrophages. Microglia, a major subtype, not only perform classical immune tasks such as phagocytosis and inflammation control but also contribute to almost every physiological process in the brain. In addition, border regions of the CNS -such as the meninges, perivascular spaces, and choroid plexus- harbor CNS border-associated macrophages that mediate interactions between the CNS and the periphery. This symposium will highlight recent advances in understanding the diverse populations of brain macrophages, spanning their roles from neural development to disease pathogenesis, and will provide an opportunity to share the latest findings and discuss further perspectives in this rapidly evolving field.