Sexually‐dimorphic effects of C3aR1 disruption in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

The complement system can act as part of the innate immune system as well as the adaptive immune system. Complement activation in the brain has been shown to play a role in neurogenesis, synaptic pruning and plasticity. It has also been specifically involved in microglial function, since our group has previously shown that when the complement component 3a receptor 1 (C3aR1) is disrupted in mice, phagocytosis by primary microglia cells is impaired as compared to WT microglia. Therefore, it is hypothesized that complement might have neuroprotective effects early in life but neurotoxic effects later in life or within a disease context, such as during Alzheimer’s disease (AD) impeding to effectively clear hallmarks of the disease.