Comparative gene expression profiling of cornea macrophages, retinal and brain microglia and bone marrow-derived monocytes

Resident tissue macrophages such as microglia in the retina and the brain inhabit tissues providing specific environmental cues. We therefore intened to compare the expression profiles of these two microglial subpopulations. Additionally, we included other resident tissue macrophages from the eye, like the cornea, that are supposed to underly a turnover with peripheral monocytes. Overall, we compared two long-lived microglial populations with two short-lived populations, cornea macrophages and bone marrow-derived monocytes. The gene expression profiles between retinal and brain microglia were comparable to each other while cornea macrophages showed more similarities to monocytic expression signatures underlining their short-lived nature and closer relation to peripheral myeloid cells. mRNA signatures from CD45+CD11b+ retinal and brain microglia, CD45+CD11b+CD64+F4/80+ cornea macrophages and CD45+CD11b+CD115+Ly6C+ bone marrow monocytes