Viscoelastic properties of white and gray matter-derived microglia differentiate upon treatment with lipopolysaccharide but not upon treatment with myelin.

In demyelinating conditions, when myelin debris is phagocytized, as in MS lesions, it is likely that the observed differences in WM- versus GM-derived microglia biomechanics are mainly due to a difference in response to inflammation, rather than to the event of demyelination itself. Thus, the differential biomechanical properties of WM and GM microglia may add to their differential biochemical properties which depend on inflammation present in WM and GM lesions of MS patients.