ArticleFrontiers in cell and developmental biology2022
Direct modulation of microglial function by electrical field.
Article in Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Electrical stimulation and stem cell subdural implantation decrease microglia reactivity after spinal cord injury.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Modalities of vision restoration in optic neuropathies and retinal disease.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2026Review
- Intracortical microstimulation induces rapid microglia process convergence.Biomaterials · 2026Article
- Non-invasive visual theta entrainment modulates myelin-related and functional outcomes in an LPC-induced demyelination model.PloS one · 2026Article
- Non-invasive bioelectrical therapy suppresses retinal neovascularization by modulating cellular metabolism and inflammation.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2025Article
- tDCS-induced enhancement of cognitive flexibility in autism: role of frontal lobe and associated neural circuits.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- Article
- Preservation of vision by transpalpebral electrical stimulation in mice with inherited retinal degeneration.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2024Article
- Neuroinflammation in the Evolution of Motor Function in Stroke and Trauma Patients: Treatment and Potential Biomarkers.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Review
- Electrical stimulation alters DNA methylation and promotes neurite outgrowth.Journal of cellular biochemistry · 2023Article
- Transcorneal but not transpalpebral electrical stimulation disrupts mucin homeostasis of the ocular surface.BMC ophthalmology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Non-invasive electric stimulation (ES) employing a low-intensity electric current presents a potential therapeutic modality that can be applied for treating retinal and brain neurodegenerative disorders. As neurons are known to respond directly to ES, the effects of ES on glia cells are poorly studied. A key question is if ES directly mediates microglial function or modulates their activity merely via neuron-glial signaling. Here, we demonstrated the direct effects of ES on microglia in the BV-2 cells-an immortalized murine microglial cell line. The low current ES in a biphasic ramp waveform, but not that of rectangular or sine waveforms, significantly suppressed the motility and migration of BV-2 microglia in culture without causing cytotoxicity. This was associated with diminished cytoskeleton reorganization and microvilli formation in BV-2 cultures, as demonstrated by immunostaining of cytoskeletal proteins, F-actin and β-tubulin, and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, ES of a ramp waveform reduced microglial phagocytosis of fluorescent zymosan particles and suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in BV-2 cells as shown by Proteome Profiler Mouse Cytokine Array. The results of quantitative PCR and immunostaining for cyclooxygenase-2, Interleukin 6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α corroborated the direct suppression of LPS-induced microglial responses by a ramp ES. Transcriptome profiling further demonstrated that ramp ES effectively suppressed nearly half of the LPS-induced genes, primarily relating to cellular motility, energy metabolism, and calcium signaling. Our results reveal a direct modulatory effect of ES on previously thought electrically "non-responsive" microglia and suggest a new avenue of employing ES for anti-inflammatory therapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.