TREM2 and Alzheimer disease: In contrast, deletion of TREM2 or the adaptor tyrosine kinase-binding protein (TyroBP or DAP12), which binds to TREM2, leads to an excess of the pro-inflammatory phenotype, which decreases microglial survival and causes amyloid plaque deposition in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Ito and Hamerman, 2012).