Female microglia show stronger aging and amyloid responses in mice, with conserved human signals
In mice, female microglia showed more disease-associated states and inflammatory signaling with aging and amyloid pathology; related sex-biased patterns appeared conserved in human microglia from the ROSMAP cohort. This is an abstract of preclinical and observational work, not evidence of a treatment. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
Alzheimer's disease is more prevalent and shows greater pathological burden in women than in men. [1]
The researchers compared mouse brain findings with single-nucleus RNA sequencing of microglia from the human ROSMAP cohort. [1]
Female mice showed greater proportions of disease-associated microglia and stronger reactivity, and related sex-biased responses were conserved in human Alzheimer's. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Preclinical mouse study with comparison to human observational cohort data (abstract).
- Population / context
- Mice examined for aging and amyloid-beta pathology, plus human microglia from the ROSMAP cohort; numbers not reported in the abstract.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Publication status
- Preprint · peer-review status not confirmed
- Original publication
- October 19, 2026
Sex differences in Alzheimer's: mouse and human microglia compared
Alzheimer's disease is more common and shows greater pathological burden in women than in men, but the molecular reasons are unclear. The authors note that translating animal findings to human Alzheimer's is difficult, partly because biological sex is often not considered and because models may not reflect the aged brain in which the disease develops. They set out to examine cell-type-specific responses to aging and amyloid-beta pathology and to check whether findings carry over to human microglia.
Supporting source [1]
Mouse brain methods plus human ROSMAP microglia comparison
The researchers examined cell-type-specific cellular and molecular responses to aging and amyloid-beta pathology in the mouse brain. They used single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy. To assess human translatability, they compared these results with single-nucleus RNA sequencing of microglia from the ROSMAP cohort. The abstract does not report sample sizes, ages, follow-up or how many human donors were included.
Supporting source [1]
Female mice: more reactive microglia; shared networks in human AD
Microglia emerged as a main contributor to sex differences. Females showed greater proportions of disease-associated microglia and greater reactivity, along with enhanced neuroinflammatory and interferon-related signaling. Comparison with human Alzheimer's showed substantial conservation of sex-biased transcriptional responses, including concordant enrichment of reactive microglial states and shared regulatory networks. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) was a central component of this conserved network, pointing to APP-related biology beyond amyloid-beta. These are associations in mice and human tissue, not proof of cause or of any treatment benefit.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. Sample sizes, ages, follow-up and human donor numbers are not reported. Mouse and human data are associations; no causal or treatment claims can be drawn.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Cox JEJ, Poljanska E, Ray S, Forsgren M, Ko S, Swiergiel P, Wright Z, Thomas MA, Freeman WM, Delpirou Nouh C, Rice HC, Ocanas SR. · europepmc.org · October 19, 2026