Fatal demyelinating disease is induced by monocyte-derived macrophages in the absence of TGF-β signaling.

The cytokine transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) regulates the development and homeostasis of several tissue-resident macrophage populations, including microglia. TGF-β is not critical for microglia survival but is required for the maintenance of the microglia-specific homeostatic gene signature1,2. Under defined host conditions, circulating monocytes can compete for the microglial niche and give rise to long-lived monocyte-derived macrophages residing in the central nervous system (CNS)3-5. Whether monocytes require TGF-β for colonization of the microglial niche and maintenance of CNS integrity is unknown. We found that abrogation of TGF-β signaling in CX3CR1+ monocyte-derived macrophages led to rapid onset of a progressive and fatal demyelinating motor disease characterized by myelin-laden giant macrophages throughout the spinal cord. Tgfbr2-deficient macrophages were characterized by high expression of genes encoding proteins involved in antigen presentation, inflammation and phagocytosis. TGF-β is thus crucial for the functional integration of monocytes into the CNS microenvironment.